The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku
by Linnea Farhen
Summary: Echizen Ryoma and Shinomiya Kourin... Two different people who suddenly met when an enemy of a gruesome past tried to take them down for good. And yet their past were unknowingly connected in a way. Will they be able to survive the danger that lies ahead of them? How will they be able to outwit and eventually defeat their unknown enemy?
1. Escaping The Hands Of Death

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors.

**Author's note: **This story of mine will be my first crossover fan fiction since I do admire these two anime and I can say that I am a fan of these two. I decided to write a prologue for this story so that I can explain the enemies that the heroes and heroines will be dealing with in the later part of the story. I'll also include a few characters in here that might be the main part of the story.

* * *

**Summary: **

Shinomiya Kourin was a newly-transferred fourth grader at Teitan Elementary School. Along with her cousin Edogawa Conan and the Detective Boys in which she was a new member, they found Ryoma's body on the river while holding a large tree trunk. The gang later found out that Ryoma happened to be the target of an agency called The Dark Rose, an underling of the Black Organization that has a connection to Echizen Ryoma's father Nanjiroh and Shinomiya Kourin's past.

Ryoma, on the other hand, managed to escape from his perpetrators and it seems that his life now lies on the hands of the Detective Boys. He found comfort and security in them, especially in Kourin's who seemed to have an idea of the predicament he was dealing with. But finding himself starting to become attached to the nine-year-old girl only led him to know a lot about her and his situation. Little by little, the answers they were trying to seek had come to light, but at the expense of the tragic truth that connected them to each other. With only a little time left, will they be able to find and locate the culprit? Or will it go the other way around?

* * *

**THE TARGETED TENNIS PLAYER OF SEIGAKU**

**~ ~PROLOGUE~ ~**

_**Escaping the Hands of Death**_

* * *

_**After the late practice at Seigaku…**_

The rain had immediately become a storm. It was worst. There was no way anyone could go home with this kind of weather condition. The rain fell harder than it ever was just minutes ago. The road now became more slippery to go on a drive in a fast speed. Even to run on it would be a bit dangerous.

The night fell silent from any other sound except for the hard rainfall and harsh blows of wind. It was even darker than the usual nighttime during summer. And since it was summer, it was unusual to have a heavy rainfall due to a storm for the past three days already.

But it was not the only unusual scene that night. That fateful night, unbeknownst to the others, in which a fate of a certain freshman would turn in a way that he would never expect.

That certain freshman was none other than Echizen Ryoma, a tennis prodigy and a regular of the Seigaku Tennis Club who happened to be Nanjiroh's son.

It was already four days that has past since he noticed someone was following him anywhere he goes. It was like they were just waiting for a chance to do something.

And it seemed that the chance they have been waiting for has already come.

Five tall men **(a)**, dressed in a black hat and coat, were chasing Ryoma just right after his practice. They were chasing him in the middle of the storm, despite the fact that the road was a bit slippery during that time. But it seemed that it didn't matter to him, as long as he could get away from those men who were chasing him even though he has been shot twice the minute he got out from the school.

One slight wound to his right arm and the other to his thigh.

While running away from his perpetrators, Ryoma couldn't help but to think about the reason why these men were chasing after him.

_Damn! I couldn't go home with this kind of situation now. Mom and Oyaji would be in danger if I go there._

He was already running for minutes now but it seemed that he didn't even feel so tired at all even though he had already ran more than fifty laps during the practice.

_I need to get away from them. But how? How will I get away from these hoodlums when they can even reach me at my current speed now?_ He took a glance at his back and there, he saw the five men still chasing after him but the gap was approximately fifty meters. _I guess they never ran as much as I did,_ he commented to himself as he kept on running.

He had no idea where he was now… not even a slightest idea at all. But it didn't even matter to Ryoma as long as he managed to escape from them. He could get some help afterwards.

As he arrived on a bridge, he stopped running and caught his breath. It didn't matter if he was wet because of the heavy rain. But he only rested for a minute when those men already managed to catch up with him.

_They're really persistent! _He continued to run towards the wooden bridge. He was hoping he could hide somewhere until he could be able to continue running and get help.

But because of the storm and the unknown state of the bridge, it would appear that everything wouldn't work the way Ryoma had planned and wanted to happen.

As the thunder and lightning struck the dark sky, the bridge suddenly broke and fell into the river. Ryoma, as he was surprised because of the lightning, fell into the river along with the broken pieces of the wooden bridge. His scream, as he fell down, was useless because of the heavy rainfall and the fast speed of the river's water flow.

As he fell into the river, he tried to swim despite the strong current of the water. He tried to swim to the nearest pole standing just below the broken bridge. But a big trunk of tree that happened to be a piece of the fallen bridge suddenly struck Ryoma's body.

And because of the rivers strong current and Ryoma's wounded, stressed, and tired state of his body, he slowly lost his consciousness while holding tight to the tree trunk that had struck him. Before his mind went completely shut, he tried to look up to the dark sky, ignoring the falling rain on his face that was injured.

_I can only hope I can survive this… Mom… Oyaji… Karupin… Nanako-san… Everyone… I'm sorry… _ And with that, he closed his eyes… leaving everything about his life to his fate…

* * *

The lightning struck again and the five men looked below the fallen bridge. With the looks on their faces, they weren't satisfied.

"Great! Just great! What the hell are we going to do now?" the man with a long black hair frustratingly asked as he walked away from the bridge.

"Why are you such an idiot? Of course, we'll tell the boss that he's dead!" the man with a big scar in an X-shape on his face said while grinning. He also walked away from the bridge, fearing that he might fall down the river because of the slippery road.

"Do you think the boss would be satisfied with this?" said the man with an eye patch on his left eye emotionlessly. "He wanted proof that we really did it. If not, he wanted a proof that he's really dead."

"So, Mr. Know-It-All Guy, do you have any idea how do we get a proof that he's dead? Do you want to run and follow the river just to find him and prove that he's dead because of the storm? I'm already tired of running because of that damn kid!" the man with a mustache and a long scar on the left side of his face exclaimed and glared at the eye patched man.

They only stared at the fallen bridge as the rain continued to fall harder the wind blew harder than it ever was. At the same time, the lightning struck again, coincided with a loud burst of thunder.

"Anyway, we need to get back to the headquarters. Whether we like it or not, we need to tell the boss what happened to our target," the last man wearing a black face mask who happened to be the tallest among them said as he slowly walked away from the fallen bridge, then followed by his colleagues.

* * *

_**At the Echizen residence…**_

It was already eleven o'clock in the evening and supposed to be, the people in this house were already asleep and the lights were switched off.

But Echizen Rinko, Ryoma's mother, was sitting on the floor, facing the front door. Accompanied by Echizen Nanjiroh, both of them waited for Ryoma's return. Even though Nanjiroh was already sleepy, he patiently waited along with her wife.

Mieno Nanako, on the other hand, was looking for Ryoma's cat, Karupin. Karupin was a Himalayan cat that Ryoma took care of.

"Karupin, where are you?" She looked around but there was no sign of the cat inside Ryoma's room.

Like the others in the house, Nanako was also worried about Ryoma since it really was unusual for him to be late like this. She was trying to dispel the thought in her mind that something might have happened to him.

She looked outside the window of that room. Harsh blows of winds, heavy downpour of the rain, and loud thrashing sound of thunder and lightning could be seen. With this kind of weather, no matter how hard she tried not to think about it, she couldn't help but to think that something bad was going on for him not to go home in time.

She just heaved a heavy sigh and went out of the room.

_Ryoma-san, where are you? Why can't you at least give your parents a call just to assure them that you're alright?_

Nanako went down and she found Ryoma's parents still waiting at the front door.

"Obaa-sama, Oji-sama, you should go to sleep now. You'll be sick if you stayed up this late. The storm will have an effect on you if you continued to wait there," she said with a weak smile.

"But, Nanako—" Rinko said quietly.

"If you're still worried about Ryoma-san, I'll be the one to wait for him. I'll wake you up as soon as he comes home." She gave a faint smile to the couple, as if trying to dispel their worries.

But the couple still hesitated, especially Rinko. "Will you be okay if you stay up late? You're still doing your research. You might not be able to do it if—"

"The deadline of that research will be two months from now. Besides, we can finish it because I have my partner **(b)**. I could ask her to do it alone for a while if ever Ryoma-san might not… return tonight. Until we can assure that he is alright, I know that she'll understand."

Rinko just heave a sigh and looked intently at Nanako. Same goes to Nanjiroh.

"Just wake us up if in case Ryoma arrives. I might be scolding that kid for not returning home in time," he said. "By the way…" he paused for a while and looked around. "Where is that cat of his?"

"Umm… about that… I also found it weird because there's no sign of him anywhere in the house. It's not possible for Karupin to go out with this kind of weather condition."

"Is that so?" Nanjiroh sighed. "Anyway, we'll be sleeping now. Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Nanako nodded and smiled. "I'll be fine."

The couple went to their room upstairs. While looking at the couple went up, Nanako thought about Ryoma.

_I wonder what happened to that kid. It's really unusual for him to be late like this. Ryoma-san… I hope you're alright…_

As she was about to go to the living room and prepare her bed, Nanako heard Rinko upstairs screamed Ryoma's name. Just as quickly as she heard it, she went upstairs to check out on Rinko.

She saw her sitting on the bed, shivering while Nanjiroh tried to calm his wife.

"What's wrong?" she worriedly asked as soon as she arrived into the room. She immediately approached the couple.

"Ryoma…" Rinko could only say, despite the shivering. "Something… h-happened to our son." And then Rinko looked intently to Nanjiroh.

"What?" Nanjiroh and Nanako stared at each other then to Rinko.

"We need to look for him first thing in the morning if ever he doesn't come back tonight. Ryoma…" And with that, she began to cry.

_Obaa-sama… Did something really happen to Ryoma-san? _Nanako looked worried to Rinko then focused looking outside. _But a mother is still a mother. Ryoma-san is Obaa-sama's son, after all. There are times… that you couldn't force yourself to believe a mother's instinct… They can tell that something happened to their child._

As Rinko continued to shiver and cry, the storm got worst outside… making the atmosphere that night even more intense…

* * *

**a… These 5 men who were chasing after Ryoma will only be a few of the members of a syndicate that will be the main antagonist of this story. You'll get to know their names and some of their information as the story progresses.**

**b… Nanako's partner that was mentioned here is actually one of my original characters. She is Akira Shouko, Doctor Akira Shouda's younger sister. Though Shouda lives in the Beika District, Shouko lives in a mansion near the Echizen residence, only a few houses apart. She will be appearing in the later part of the story.**

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**Okay… There might be some errors on my grammar and sentences but I hope you read it and review, as well. I might take some time writing the first chapter but it's almost done.**

**Coming up… Chapter One-Crisis In The Midst Of The Summer Sun.**

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	2. Crisis In The Midst Of The Summer Sun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors.

**Author's note: **This chapter will most likely be the introduction of some of my original characters that I included here. So I hope you like it… read and review as well… Anyway, sorry for the late update. I just finished my prelim exam and I have to focus on my projects first since I have to maintain my grades.

**Warning: **The characters might not be in their usual selves. I forgot to put this the last time.

* * *

**THE TARGETED TENNIS PLAYER OF SEIGAKU**

**CHAPTER ONE**

_**Crisis In The Midst Of The Summer Sun**_

* * *

_**Beika District…**_

It was the day after the big storm that hit more than a third of Japan. So far, the storm left only minimum damage to the infrastructures and agriculture. And it stopped just before dawn. Miraculously, the sun shone brightly, revealing the beautiful scenery of the morning despite the visible effects of the storm.

And of course, obviously, the kids were happy because the storm was now over. As soon as the sun came out, the kids played outside.

Among those kids was a certain group consisting of 6 people known as the Detective Boys.

Well, originally they were only consisting of 5 members. The reason they were now consisted of 6 was because of a new member who happened to be a transfer student and the cousin of Edogawa Conan… err… She was supposed to be the cousin of Kudo Shinichi but since he has been shrunk, she was the cousin of Conan. This new member was 9-year-old 4th grader Shinomiya Kourin **(a)**, more often called Rin.

The Detective Boys were currently playing outside Professor Agasa Hiroshi's house, since they agreed to have grilled barbeque as lunch for their "picnic".

Conan, Mitsuhiko, and Genta arranged the grill to be used for the barbeque grilling, while Ayumi, Haibara, and Kourin, along with the professor, prepared the ingredients for the barbeque. The kids were playing board game outside as the professor grilled the barbeque.

"I'm glad the storm was finally over. I got really bored these past days," Ayumi said and then took her turn to play.

Mitsuhiko nodded as a sign of agreeing. "Tell me about it. I couldn't go out to go here so I can play with Conan-kun."

Conan just smiled weirdly. _I was more than glad that the storm struck. I never have to spend at least 3 days with them,_ he thought as he took his turn to play.

"What about you, Genta-kun?" Mitsuhiko asked.

Genta sighed and took his turn to play after Conan. "I just stayed inside the house sleeping almost all day. When I woke up, I always got hungry so I ate almost all the food in the house."

"Eh?! Almost all the food?" The girls exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah!" Genta proudly said that made the others laugh.

The girls shook their heads and smiled. "Oh, Genta-kun… you never change," Ayumi commented while giggling. She then faced Haibara and Kourin. "What about you two? What did you do these past days during the storm?"

Haibara and Kourin stared at each other and then smiled at Ayumi. "Both of us helped each other in our projects **(b)**," Haibara answered with a faint smile.

"Projects? What kind?" Genta asked.

Kourin wagged her finger. "That would be a big S-E-C-R-E-T." And then she winked.

The others were puzzled but only Conan and Professor Agasa knew exactly what kind of project were they working on.

Conan could only laugh in his mind.

_Haibara is still working for the antidote down the professor's lab. Rin is trying to perfect her father's ultimate tennis technique that was never shown when he was still a professional tennis player. She's also creating gadget that could help her in her mission… although I still have no idea what was that mission that she's hiding from us ever since she arrived here. _And that mystery alone aroused Conan's curiosity that led him in deep thinking.

"Oi, Conan-kun! It's your turn!"

He was startled when Kourin called him. "O-Oh! Sorry about that." Conan just laughed and then took his turn to play.

He set his thoughts aside for a while. There was still time to think about it since Kourin would be staying at the professor's for a long time, that was for sure.

The lunch had started after the professor was done grilling the barbeque. Everyone had a very good time eating together outside like having a picnic. And when they were done eating, all of them helped wash the dishes.

The kids were having a rest in the living room while reading some comics and books. Then suddenly, Professor Agasa came from the kitchen.

"Ah, Rin-kun! Are you going to the hospital today?"

Kourin nodded and that moment, she stood up from the sofa and returned the book she was reading to the shelf.

"Hospital? Are you alright, Rin-san?" Ayumi asked in a concerned tone.

"Are you sick?" Genta also asked.

Kourin shook her head. "No. The reason I'm going to the hospital is because today is my monthly check-up. Besides, I have to know if my elbow is okay now after that accident during the chase."

The chase that she was mentioning was about a robber that targeted Professor Agasa's house a month ago. During the chase, she fell into a manhole when she saved Mitsuhiko from falling into it which a trap was made by the culprit. It caused Rin's left arm and left foot to be paralyzed for almost a month.

That robbery chase ended that night.

It was Kourin's second case together with the Detective Boys.

"Is that so?" Then Ayumi stood up from her seat and returned the comics she's reading on the shelf. "Then, can I go with you?"

"Eh?"

"Ayumi-chan, aren't you just going to interfere with Rin's check-up when you go with her? It's a private check-up done to her because she's obliged to do so," Conan said without looking at anyone and just focusing on reading the book.

Ayumi became sad with this. Genta and Mitsuhiko glared at Conan which gave a cold, tingling shiver to his spines.

_Looks like I'm in danger._

"It's okay if Ayumi-chan will go with me."

The others looked at her. She was just smiling.

"Really?" Ayumi became excited.

Kuorin nodded. Ayumi hugged her in happiness.

Haibara also stood up. "Then… will it be okay if I go with you, as well?"

"Of course. I promised Akira-sensei** (c) **that I will introduce you to her on my next hospital visit. I'm sure she'll be glad to meet you all."

Genta and Mitsuhiko lively stood up and returned the comics that they were reading.

"I'll be glad to meet Akira-sensei. I heard she's an extremely intelligent person with a rumored IQ of 305 that's why she became a surgeon, a pharmacologist and a chemist," Mitsuhiko said to the others.

"Is it true, Rin-san?"

"Ah, well…" she paused for a while as if thinking how to explain it. "It is true that she is a surgeon, a pharmacologist and a chemist. But about the rumored IQ… It's just a rumor."

"Really?" Genta could only ask.

"Her real IQ is actually 270. She's a studious type of student back in her days, anyway. And she's really aiming to become one of those three."

"But in the end, she managed to achieve all three because many people persuaded her to do so. Is that right?" Haibara simply asked.

"I guess you could say it that way. But she did it to achieve her goals in life, as well."

The others were about to leave when Kourin noticed Conan was staring at her. "What's wrong, Conan-kun? Don't you want to come with us?"

"Eh? Umm… I'll go with you. I can't do a lot of things in this house, anyway." He then stood up and left the book he was reading. He followed the others, and he was behind Kourin.

_Rin… still has a lot of mysteries that I need to find out. Her eyes… her sad eyes denote something bad had happened that made her stay here. And I'm going to find that out… for my cousin's sake…_

Conan sighed and ran to catch up with the others. But they never knew that this day would lead the way into knowing Kourin's past and the real reason behind her sad eyes.

This will lead to a day for them to meet and change one person's life upside down because of an incident.

* * *

_**The morning practice of the Seigaku Tennis Club…**_

Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu, was sitting on the bench near the tennis court, while the other regulars of the Seigaku were just watching the other members practice while waiting for a particular person.

Echizen Ryoma.

It was already nine o'clock in the morning but there was no sign of Ryoma anywhere in the school grounds.

"Where the hell did that Echizen go? He knew that there will be an early morning practice today. And yet…" Oishi, Seigaku's vice-captain, said facing Fuji.

"You're right. Of all people out of the club, he'd be one of the most enthusiastic players here, especially now that we're going to another tennis tournament. It might not be obvious to the others, but we can see that to him."

"Did someone go to their house?" Momoshiro asked while watching the other members.

"Kawamura did. He went there to deliver sushi to Echizen but when he arrived, there was no one at home," Inui explained to them.

"That is strange."

The others focused on the practice of the younger members. However, their mind couldn't seem to concentrate on it.

The same goes to Tezuka, although it was not exactly shown.

Ryuzaki Sumire, Seigaku's coach, could only watch them but she couldn't exactly do anything about it, as well.

_I can only hope they're alright. It is quite unusual for them to be out even after the storm. And Ryoma… why didn't he leave a message that he couldn't make it to the practice?_

Coach Ryuzaki could only think of a few reasons but it seemed that it didsn't answer her questions at all.

* * *

_**Beika District, inside the Beika Central Hospital…**_

"There seems to be no problem with your elbow," Doctor Akira happily stated after a few tests that she did as part of the monthly check-up. "Your wounds from then has healed already and it seems that your left leg isn't suffering from being paralyzed anymore."

"Really, Akira-sensei?" Ayumi enthusiastically asked the doctor.

The doctor nodded. She then stood up as soon as the kids were happily approaching Kourin.

"Thank you very much, Akira-sensei."

She was surprised at Mitsuhiko's sudden thanks. "Why are you saying 'thank you'?"

Mitsuhiko was about to answer her when Genta suddenly interrupted. "Because… you were so nice to us and you're always there when Rin-san needs a reliable doctor. You're enthusiastic when healing Rin-san's paralyzed body."

The young doctor just smiled. "Why are you thanking me for? I'm just doing my duty as a doctor. And besides, I have to do whatever it takes for me to help her since I'm also acting as her guardian."

Conan and Haibara only watched the others talked to Kourin happily.

But Conan couldn't really remove the thoughts he had about Kourin earlier. And Haibara noticed him being "unusually" quiet. Though remained acting like she never care.

Kourin noticed Doctor Akira putting her white coat on the hook attacked on the wall. She also noticed her getting her bag and fixing her office table.

"Akira-sensei, where are you going?"

The doctor smiled at them. "I'm planning to treat you today since this is the first time I've met all of you. It'll be my pleasure if I could at least give you a little reward for being Rin-chan's friends. She's been a loner since _that incident _happened a year ago."

"Sensei…" Kourin pouted when Doctor Akira said that.

"That incident? What are you talking about, Akira-sensei?" Genta curiously asked.

"You'll know soon. Anyway, does anyone of you want to eat ice cream and cake? It is summer."

Everyone raised their hands happily and Conan and Haibara smiled and went with the flow.

While they were walking out of the office, Conan remained silent that Doctor Akira noticed. And she already had a guess what the kid was thinking about. So she slowed down and kept up with Conan's pace.

"You must be wondering about the thing I said a while ago," she mumbled but loud enough for Conan to hear.

And Conan answered in the same way. "Yes. Akira-sensei, did something happen a year ago to Rin?"

Doctor Akira sighed and looked at Kourin. "This might not be the right time to tell you the truth. But don't worry, you'll know soon. Just watch over Rin-chan for a while until her predicament is over."

This left Conan even more curious about Kourin. If Kourin's life was in danger, it only explained the gadgets that she was creating for her self to be used in something.

"Conan-kun, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

His thoughts were disrupted by that voice. He saw Kourin's worried eyes looking at him. He just laughed in return for her not to think about anything.

"I'm okay." Then he ran to keep up with Kourin and the others.

* * *

The Detective Boys, along with Doctor Akira, drove around the town using the doctor's car.

The cake shop where they were heading was a little bit far from the hospital but it seems that they were not bored or hasty at all. The kids were having a fun conversation with the doctor.

Mitsuhiko, Genta, Ayumi, and Haibara were seating at the back seat while Kourin and Conan were seating at the doctor's side, who happened to be the driver.

Kourin was seating near the window so she had been looking out to see the view outside along the way...

...in which Conan took an advantage of to talk to Doctor Akira about what she had just mentioned earlier in the hospital.

The guys at the back seat were listening, as well, but it seemed that Kourin didn't notice at all. She was too engrossed on what she was looking at outside...

...until the car took a turn and a bridge came into the far view. The small grasslands on the riverside below the road were so beautiful even after a storm hit the country. Its green color calmed anyone who had seen it.

It really was beautiful but that was not the only thing Kourin noticed outside. She noticed a cat… a Himalayan cat with weird red spot all over it. And immediately, she called out Doctor Akira.

"Sensei, can you stop the car?"

"Eh? Why?" Doctor Akira asked but she's still driving and her eyes were focused on the road, though the car's speed had decreased.

"What's wrong, Rin?" Conan asked her.

"Please, just stop the car on the sidewalk near the bridge."

Though hesitating, the doctor did what Kourin had asked her. She stopped the car on the roadside. The moment the car stopped, the girl got out and ran to reach the stairs going down the riverside.

"Rin-san!" Ayumi called out but she didn't hear. So all of them had no choice but to follow Kourin to know what was going on.

Even the doctor followed her.

When Kourin was on the riverside, she saw the cat with red spots ran from her. Determined, she followed it only for her to be stunned because of what the cat was looking at.

She saw a person floating with the aid of a big tree trunk that was blocked by the bridge's consecutive poles erected below the bridge.

Fortunately, the river's water flow was extremely slow. She looked on the river but there was no other unusual things found. But still, the thing that bothered her that moment was the red spot on the Himalayan cat.

The others arrived at the scene. And like her, they were stunned when they saw the floating body.

Conan and Doctor Akira approached her, while she approached and carried the cat that was actually wounded. That would explain the red spots she saw on it.

"Is this the reason why you asked me to stop the car, Rin-chan?" Akira-sensei placed her hand on Kourin's shoulder while the girl carried the cat.

"No. I saw the red spots on this cat and I decided to follow it to know. But it surprised me to see a body floating in the river clinging on a tree trunk.

"But how are we going to get him to the surface?" Haibara asked silently.

"I'm not sure if one of us could swim there—" Mitsuhiko abruptly stopped talking when he heard Ayumi shouted.

Kourin and Conan dove into the river. Though the water's cold due to the typhoon's effect, both of them swam swiftly to the body's location.

When Conan surfaced above the water and touched the body, he could still feel the body's pulse but it was starting to faint. Kourin surfaced, as well, and they could hear the loud meowing of the cat on the riverside, carried by Ayumi.

"That must be this person's pet," Conan said. "Anyway, can you help me carry him until we reached the riverside?"

Kourin only smiled and Conan already knew the answer. Both of them released the person from holding the tree trunk tight. While doing that, Kourin noticed the pale face of the person.

After studying the guy's features, she was surprised that caused her to shout.

"What's wrong?"

Kourin covered her mouth and spoke softly. "I'm sorry. It's just that, I thought I know this guy from somewhere. Then I just remembered the tennis magazine I read about the results of the Kantou Tournament. He's actually the key figure of the Seigaku, Echizen Ryoma."

"Eh?! That Echizen Ryoma?" Conan was stunned and stared at her. "Are you serious?"

Kourin glowered to him. "I thought you're a great detective. Then at least you should've noticed that earlier." Then she continued to slowly release him from holding to the tree trunk.

"Well, I'm not really focusing on tennis. I'd rather watch soccer game than tennis match," Conan mumbled as he glowered to Kourin.

"Rin-chan, Conan-kun, are you sure you'll be okay? You need to get out of the water fast if you don't want to get sick," the doctor said in a loud voice.

"Catch this!" a person suddenly shouted and then threw a life preserver attached to a rope. It was caught by Conan who swam to get it when it was going to be carried by the river's water flow.

The person was someone that Kourin and Doctor Akira knew. He was Yanai Shinichiro **(d)**, also a surgeon and a chemist of the Beika Central Hospital.

"Shin, what are you doing here?" Doctor Akira approached him as he was pulling the rope.

"I saw your car parked on the roadside so I thought I'll see you here. But I never thought you're saving a boy."

Kourin shivered because of the water's cold temperature despite the strong presence of the sun. Conan felt her shivering because he knew that she couldn't last long in cold water.

"Sensei, everyone, can you help him pull the rope? This person's pulse is starting to faint. We need to take him to the hospital!" Conan said as he felt Kourin. He noticed Ryoma's right sleeve was torn, as if something had grazed on it.

"He was probably shot by someone's bullet." Conan glanced at her.

When they've reached the shore, the two adults helped the two kids pull Ryoma's body to the riverside. Immediately, Doctor Yanai carried the body even though he was completely wet due to the water.

"I'll take him to the hospital. You can follow if you want." Then he ran to his car to take Ryoma to the hospital.

Doctor Akira sighed and looked at the kids. "Will it be okay if we go with Shin to the hospital? I feel worried about that person we rescued."

"It's okay, Sensei," Haibara said with a faint smile. "Even though we go to the cake shop, we might be still worrying about that person we found." Ayumi and Mitsuhiko agreed. Genta was a bit disappointed but he understood.

Conan and Kourin just followed them.

"What do you think, Conan-kun? I can understand that he might have fallen from a broken bridge or to a slippery road because of the storm. That's why he was washed away by the water. But there's—"

"I know what you're thinking." Conan glanced at her and looked to the river. "You're wondering why there's a gunshot wound on that guy."

"There are actually two gunshot wounds on him. The other one was on his right thigh."

"There's only one conclusion about that… for now. It might be that someone wanted to kill him. Only to get lucky to be washed away by the river."

Kourin glared at him for a while.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" he asked but most likely, he had already an idea.

Kourin sighed. "If we could really call it lucky." Then both of them hurried back to the car for them to follow Doctor Yanai's car.

* * *

**a… Shinomiya Kourin is my OC. As I've mentioned here, she is the cousin of Conan (Shinichi) on his father's side and her mother's side. Shinichi's father, Kudo Yuusaku, has a sister named Kudo Rina who was Kourin's mother and was brutally murdered along with her husband and eldest child. Kourin's connection to this murder would most likely be the main plot of the story.**

**b… The project that Haibara and Kourin were working on was a collaboration on creating gadgets that can be much helpful in Kourin's mission that will remain unknown until the later part of the story. Unknown to the others, it was rumored in the family that Kourin has the level of intelligence ****that far surpasses**** her parents****'**** (Shinomiya Ryuuki and Kudo Rina) and Doctor Akira Shouda****'s IQs**** even though she's only nine years old.**

**c… Kourin was mentioning none other than Doctor Akira Shouda, who is also an OC of mine. As I've written, she has a rumored IQ of 305 but turned out to be 270. She is a surgeon, a pharmacologist and a chemist at Beika ****Cent****ral Hospital. She is an official family doctor of the Shinomiya family and acted as Kourin's guardian. She has a sister who is close to the Echizen family and a partner of Mieno Nanako, Akira Shouko. Doctor Akira's physical appearance is similar to that of Doctor Asai Narumi who appeared in "**_**Moonlight Sonata Murder Case" **_**episode of Detective Conan, only with a longer and shiny raven-colored hair.**

**d… Doctor Yanai Shinichiro is also a surgeon and a chemist at Beika ****Cent****ral Hospital. He is an original character of mine. The reason why Akira Shouda called him Shin is because he is her fiancé. He is also an official family doctor of the Shinomiya family. **

* * *

**Thank goodness… I'm done with the first chapter. **

**Well, I hope you like it.**

**Just read and don't forget to review, as well…**

**Coming up… Chapter Two: Meeting Momoshiro and Fuji**


	3. Meeting Momoshiro And Fuji

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors.

**Author's note: **I'm really, really sorry for the late update. Anyway, this chapter will feature Momoshiro and Fuji who will meet the person who saved Ryoma. This might not be a good chapter but I hope you wouldn't forget to read and review it so that I'll know my mistakes. As for grammatical errors, forgive me but I'll try to do better next time, okay?

**Warning: **The characters might not be in their usual selves.

* * *

**THE TARGETED TENNIS PLAYER OF SEIGAKU**

**~~CHAPTER TWO~~**

_**Meeting Momoshiro and Fuji**_

* * *

_**Almost two hours later, in Beika Central Hospital…**_

The Detective Boys waited inside Doctor Akira's office for the results of the operations done to Ryoma by Doctor Yanai and Doctor Akira themselves. The kids were uneasy and worried about Ryoma's situation.

Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, and Haibara talked about Ryoma's possible situation. Genta could only complain because he was hungry again.

Conan and Kourin changed their wet clothes with the spare clothes left in the hospital. When Kourin had finished changing ang came out of the comfort room, Doctor Akira entered the office, along with Doctor Yanai.

"How is he, Yanai-sensei?" Ayumi immediately inquired as soon as the two doctors entered.

"He's fine now. The gunshot wound he had on his arm was only a minor one. Though the wound he had on his thigh was a little deep. And in those wounds, it seemed that the bullets used to shoot him contain chemicals that could—" he paused. "—cause paralysis to his organs."

"Eh?!" The kids stared at him, as if not wanting to believe it. But Doctor Akira's serious face made them to.

"Are you serious, Yanai-sensei?"

He nodded. "But it will take us some time to know what are the particular chemicals used in that bullet."

All of them fell silent. And then they heard Kourin heaved a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong, Rin-chan?" Doctor Akira approached her.

Kourin shook her head. "I'm just worried about Ryoma-niichan. He's really dedicated in playing tennis and he became the key player of Seigaku. And yet, he's facing this kind of predicament…" She gave a faint smile when she saw her friends looked at her with worried eyes. Then she faced Doctor Akira. "By the way, will he be alright? What about the traces of chemicals you found in his wounds?"

Both the doctors smiled at her. "We managed to remove those chemicals outside of his wounds. Don't worry. The bullets seemed to have just grazed his body. It's probably because he was running from his perpetrators. But the chemicals inside Ryoma's wound on his thigh will have an effect on his walking capability. However, it will only be temporary."

Both Kourin and Conan sighed in relief. While the others smiled at what they heard. Genta rubbed his tummy.

"Now I feel even hungrier because of that."

Mitsuhiko sighed and shook his head. "Not again, Genta-kun. You're always like that…"

The others laughed. And then Kourin approached Doctor Akira who sat on the swivel chair.

"Sensei, will it be okay if I should just go out and buy some food? You see, after swimming in a cold river, I felt kinda hungry, as well," she said with a shy smile.

Both the doctors laughed. Instead of Doctor Akira, it was Doctor Yanai who handed her some money. And honestly, it was a huge amount, though Kourin had no fear in handling such a big amount of money.

"You can buy as much food as you can, but don't forget to buy some for me and Shouda, okay?"

She nodded and then bowed down. "Thank you very much, Yanai-sensei."

Haibara and Ayumi stood up from their seats and approached her.

"Then I guess we should help you. I'm having a bad feeling about the money you're handling," Haibara said in a bland tone.

"Haibara-san, you don't have to worry about that. Rin-chan knows how to keep that money away from thieves. She's good at hiding money in her possession," Doctor Akira said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Haibara glanced at her. "Well, will it be okay if Yoshida-san and I accompany you?"

Kourin agreed. She then made a list of what are the foods she was going to buy so that she wouldn't forget anything along the way.

* * *

_**In the tennis court of Seigaku…**_

The practice that day continued even without Ryoma. Though a lot had wondered why he didn't appear in the practice, no one could provide an answer.

Although the Regulars didn't want to, most of them found it odd for Ryoma not to attend the practice. And because of that, most of them were worried. They wanted to know what's going on.

But because of the upcoming tennis tournament, they couldn't do anything for now other than to practice,

Until later that day, someone managed to provide them an answer. But of course, it would leave them shocked.

The tennis practice that day ended earlier than it was expected. The reason for this… They couldn't concentrate on the practice itself. While fixing their things, the Seigaku Regulars gathered at the tennis court, much to the curiosity of the other members.

Horio, Kachiro, and Katsuo decided to stay with them. Even Tomoka and Sakuno stayed. Ryuzaki-sensei, however, decided to stay in her office for a while.

Like the others, she couldn't help but to worry about Ryoma, as well.

"Nya, this is really weird. Ochibi can be late sometimes but to think he wouldn't attend a whole day practice…" Kikumaru said

Oishi agreed. "It's not even his type to be absent in something as important as this when it comes to tennis."

"You're right, Oishi-senpai!" Horio agreed loudly to Oishi.

"But really, what happened to Ryoma-kun?" Kachiro most likely asked it to himself.

"Do you think something bad might have happened to him?" Sakuno mumbled thoughtfully but unfortunately, it was loud enough for the others to hear, much to her surprise. So she tried to laugh to hide it.

Even Tomoka laughed. "There's no way something bad would happen to Ryoma-sama."

"But there is a huge possibility that it happened," a person said in a serious tone.

The others looked at the one who spoke. It was Fuji.

All of them fell silent and thought something about Ryoma's actions the last time they saw him.

Then Momoshiro snapped when he remembered something about last night. "Now that you mention it, Echizen was seemed to be running pretty fast yesterday even though the road was slippery because of the storm. There were times, as well, that he looked cautious to his surroundings, especially when we're going home together."

"Really?" Momoshiro nodded.

They continued to talk about it. Most likely, they were talking all about Ryoma's odd actions, especially when going home after practice.

But this was disrupted when they saw someone approaching. It was Inoue and Shiba, a journalist and a photographer respectively from Monthly Pro Tennis.

"Inoue-san! Shiba-san! What's wrong? You seemed to be in a hurry," Tomoka approached them as they stopped running.

Even though they were catching their breaths, Shiba managed to say something. "Have you heard the news about Echizen-kun?"

"News?" Everyone became interested to listen when they've heard Ryoma's name. "What kind of news?"

"What about Echizen? Did something happen?" Kawamura inquired in a worried tone.

Inoue was surprised. "You mean, you don't know anything about what happened to Echizen since last night?"

The others stared at each other and then shook their heads. The journalist and the photographer just sighed and looked to them seriously, which gave them the creeps.

"What happened to Echizen?" This time, Tezuka asked them placidly.

Inoue was the one who answered the question. "Echizen was missing since last night, according to Nanjiroh-san."

"Eh?!" All of them opened their eyes wide as their mind tried to absorb what Inoue said. "Are you serious?"

Both Inoue and Shiba nodded.

"That could have been the explanation of Echizen's odd actions these past weeks," Momoshiro said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Shiba asked Momoshiro.

"We shouldn't tell you about that for now. Right now, we need to help Echizen's family to look for him. Inoue-san, Shiba-san…" Oishi looked at them. "Please don't put this to your article. It might make the case worst than we could have ever thought."

They agreed. And that time, they devised a plan to look for Ryoma, even if they would look throughout Tokyo.

The Regulars were divided into groups of pairs by random picking to look for Ryoma's whereabouts. Coach Ryuzaki, Tomoka, Sakuno, Horio, Kachiro, Katsuo, and even Shiba and Inoue participated in the search.

The pairs were: Kikumaru and Oishi, Tezuka and Kawamura, Fuji and Momoshiro, Kaidoh and Inui, Coach Ryuzaki and Sakuno, Horio and Tomoka, Kachiro and Katsuo, and Mr. Inoue and Shiba.

And their plan will begin tomorrow. They needed to rest so that they could do the search vigorously.

"Just wait, Echizen… We're coming…" Momoshiro mumbled.

* * *

_**Back at Beika Central Hospital, 7:00 in the evening…**_

It's already night time but Kourin and the others were still in the hospital, watching over Ryoma who had just came out of the operating room a few hours ago and now he's sleeping in one of the private rooms there.

And then Professor Agasa arrived at the hospital since Conan reported to him about the event happened. Kourin decided to stay there to watch over Ryoma since she's worried about him. She's the one who's taking care of the Himalayan cat.

She insisted on staying and no one could convince her to leave him. Until Doctor Yanai and Doctor Akira made a plan. She mentioned this to both Conan and the professor. And because of Ryoma's mystery about what really happened to him the night of the storm, and Kourin's concern to the guy made them agree to the two doctors' plan.

And if their intuitions were right, Ryoma's life was in danger that night. Cases like this in which it was full of mysteries were the ones Conan wouldn't let go and pass.

Professor Agasa and the Detective Boys entered Ryoma's room in which Kourin was staying there and watching him.

"Rin-chan…"

Kourin heard it and turned around. "What is it?"

"Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei said that we could take care of Ryoma-niichan in Agasa-hakase's house. That way, we could even investigate this case discreetly. If someone really wants him dead, we need to hide him somewhere and we need to do it now," Conan said.

She was stunned because of what she had heard. "Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei said that?" Everyone nodded.

She then looked at the professor. "But wouldn't it be a bother to you, hakase?"

Professor Agasa laughed. "Don't worry about things like that."

"Besides, we're here to help you take care of him and at the same time, we're here to help you and Conan-kun investigates this case." Mitsuhiko said.

"I'm also worried about Ryoma-san because of the chemicals from the bullets used to shoot him," Haibara said placidly.

Ayumi and Genta agreed on that.

Kourin smiled. "Thank you very much, everyone."

That night, with the hospital management's consent, Ryoma was transferred to Professor Agasa's house.

Inside Doctor Akira's car, Kourin was on the back seat and Haibara on the front seat. She glanced at the unconscious Ryoma whose head was placed on her lap.

_Don't worry, Ryoma-niichan. We'll find the ones who did this to you… So just take a rest for a while, okay?_

* * *

_**The next day…**_

The designated pairs had gone off to their task in finding Ryoma. But we're just going to take an inside look on Fuji and Momoshiro who had gone off to Beika District as their first destination.

These two will meet someone who became involved with the one they're looking for.

It was approximately nine o'clock in the morning when Fuji and Momoshiro reached Beika District. But there's one problem.

They don't know where to start looking.

And honestly, they have taken the whole day asking if they saw Ryoma there by showing them his picture. All of them answered one thing… they didn't see him and they have no idea where he is.

It was like that until they've decided to stop on an alley wherein they could talk about it.

"I'm tired," Momoshiro whined as he rested his back on the wall. "I guess we can't find Echizen here. And we haven't even looked at the whole district."

"I know but this is just our first day looking for him. We might have done some sacrifices for the upcoming tournament but we're doing this for ourselves, as well. And we need to know what's really going on, to think that Echizen had gone missing since last night."

Momoshiro stared at Fuji who was sipping pineapple juice. He sighed and took his sandwich in his bag. In one bite, he had eaten more than a half of the sandwich. Well, that's his way to ease up his tension (I guess).

And Fuji found it quite amusing. He took one sandwich from Momoshiro and ate as well.

It was almost sundown when they decided to look for a room for them to stay for the night. And while they're walking on a certain alley, they saw a little girl, about seven or eight years old, who was being bullied by some teenage punks. Most likely, these punks were middle schoolers like them.

These guys were forcing the long haired little girl to give them her groceries and wrist watch. When she resisted, one punk, the red-haired one, grabbed the girl's hand and forcefully slammed her against the wall and went near her. Since the impact had put quite a pain on her body, she couldn't move much, or to resist.

"I told you, if you don't want to get hurt, you should just do what we want you to do," the red-haired punk said while grinning. His friends laughed with that.

And all of it was seen by Fuji and Momoshiro.

"Those jerk! How dare he do that to such a little girl?" Momoshiro gritted his teeth because of what he had seen. And then he glanced at Fuji. "Fuji-senpai… What are we going to do to help her?"

But it stunned him to see a tennis racquet and a tennis ball in Fuji's hands. "F-Fuji-senpai… you brought a tennis racquet with you."

He just smiled at him. "Saa, I thought it might be helpful and come in handy." And in a flash, Fuji made a serve so powerful that it came so fast to the red-haired punk's face before he could touch the girl who was hurt.

All of the punks looked at the one who hit their friend's face with a tennis ball. Only to get surprised when Momoshiro made a serve that almost hit one of the other punks' faces which made them scared out of their wits.

Momoshiro snapped his fingers and shook his head. He then tapped the tennis racquet to his palm. "Sorry about that. That was supposed to hit to your ugly faces but my hand slipped."

"If you don't want to get hurt any further, you should just do what we want you to do," Fuji said in an angry tone, warning those punks. "Leave the girl alone and get out of here! Take your friend with you, as well."

The red-haired punk stood up slowly and tried to grab the girl who could barely move and stand because of pain throbbing her. But before he managed to lay his hand on her, both Fuji and Momoshiro made another powerful serve… aiming to hit that punk. Thankfully, he managed to dodge it but the balls destroyed the three-layered plywood on his back because of the service's power.

All of those punks ran away as fast as they could.

Both Momoshiro and Fuji sighed and went near the girl and her groceries which were scattered in the pavement. When they finished picking up the girl's things, they've approached her.

"Are you okay?" Fuji asked the girl in a worried tone.

* * *

_They're awesome! That was some tennis power they've demonstrated earlier_, Kourin could only think as she watched the two guys helping her pick up her things.

"Are you okay?" The guy with a light brown hair and eyes closed, probably due to his cheerful nature, asked her as he approached.

She could only nod. He smiled and helped her try to stand.

It was a good thing that the way she was slammed to the wall didn't affect her feet in some way. She managed to say "thank you" to him.

The other guy, who was seemed to be his companion, gave her the groceries scattered earlier.

"Thank you very much, Onii-san-tachi." And then she bowed. "Sorry about the trouble."

Both of them smiled. "Don't worry about it. We just happened to pass by and then we saw you with those punks. By the way, I'm Fuji Shusuke," the guy with a light brown hair said.

"I'm Momoshiro Takeshi," the other guy said in a lively tone.

Kourin smiled and bowed. "My name's Shinomiya Kourin. Nice to meet you, Fuji-san, Momoshiro-san."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Then she looked at her wristwatch, only to get surprised. "Eh?! It's five o'clock already?" She then glanced at Fuji and Momoshiro. "Now that you mention it, you two are the regulars of Seigaku Tennis Club. Am I right?"

"You know about us?" Kourin nodded.

"Then can we ask you one thing?" And then Fuji handed her a picture. Much to her surprise, it was Ryoma's picture. "Have you seen him here yesterday or today?"

It took her a few moments before she answered. "No. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him. But if ever I see him and finds out where he is, I could give you a call."

The two guys agreed and gave her their numbers. And in return, Kourin guided them to a hotel there near that alley found in Beika District where they can stay for the night. She said goodbye and went home using a bus.

She hid the paper with Fuji's and Momoshiro's numbers written on it inside her bag. And then she sighed heavily, because she lied to them about Ryoma and his whereabouts.

_But I have to do this. Until we couldn't find an answer to this case, I have to keep it a secret. I couldn't let Ryoma-niichan be involved in any more danger. So I'm really sorry… Fuji-san… Momoshiro-san…_

And then she glanced outside the bus window.

* * *

**Okay, another chapter is finished and honestly, I don't have much time to type it on the computer because I have a lot of projects but I'll do my best to finish the story.**

**3 down, 14 more to go…**

**I can do it! Anyway, read and review…**

**Coming up… Chapter Three: The Sleeping Prince Awakens.**


	4. The Sleeping Prince Awakens

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors.

**Author's note: **It's obvious with the chapter title that in this part of the story, Ryoma will finally be awakened from his slumber. But one thing will definitely surprise him. He's also going to meet his savior. This chapter also gives hints about Kourin's past. It might not be a good chapter but I hope you like it. Don't forget to read and review, okay? It could take me some time putting the next chapter.

**Warning: **The characters might not be in their usual selves.

* * *

**THE TARGETED TENNIS PLAYER OF SEIGAKU**

**~~CHAPTER THREE~~**

_**The Sleeping Prince Awakens**_

* * *

_**One week later after the incident…**_

"Oi, Haibara!"

Haibara Ai just entered the school gate when she heard her classmate, Edogawa Conan, called her. "Good morning, Edogawa-kun," she said placidly as she continued to walk towards the school building.

And then she heard her name being called again. This time, a bunch of kids called her.

"Ai-chan!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around. And then she saw Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko approaching her. "Good morning," she greeted with a faint smile.

"Good morning," Ayumi said and then she noticed something. "Where's Rin-san?"

"Now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen her with Conan-kun. She usually sticks to him most of the time."

"Shinomiya-san is having an early appointment with Yanai-sensei and Akira-sensei about Echizen-kun's current condition."

"By the way, how is he?" Conan asked.

"He's still unconscious until now and two days ago, he was having a high fever but it all went down this morning. Shinomiya-san was the one who's taking care of him during those days."

Conan frowned. "Rin?"

"Rin-san sure is patient in taking care of Ryoma-niichan ever since we found him floating on the river a week ago," Mitsuhiko commented and glanced at Conan.

"But I thought—" Conan paused abruptly when Haibara spoke.

"I also thought that Hakase was the one who's taking care of him. The reason why we never knew that was because of her room used for Echizen-kun. It automatically became soundproof at 8:00 in the evening and it goes off at 5:30 in the morning. She probably requested that to Hakase," she said in a bland tone.

They all continued to walk and the moment they had entered the classroom, they placed their bags on their respective tables. After that, they decided to head out to Class 4-C t heck out if Kourin was already there. And they were surprised to see Kourin sleeping on her seat. Conan woke her up.

"I thought you're having an appointment with Akira-sensei today," Conan said as soon as she woke up. The others glanced at her.

Even though she was a little sleepy, she yawned and showed a faint smile to them. "Sensei said she'll stop by at Hakase's and he'll inform me about Ryoma-niichan's condition after that."

Ayumi sighed. "But seriously, even though it's late at night, you're still the one taking care of him. Why are you doing this much to him?"

Kourin fell silent and looked at her right palm… in which it bears a mark that reminded her of something about what happened to her a year ago.

_It's because… he bears a resemblance to my brother. And those bullets used to shoot him… I guess the people who are after me were the ones who are chasing Ryoma-niichan a week ago. But why? What do they want from him?_

"Oi, Rin! Wake up!"

Her thought were disrupted by that call and the sound of the school bell. And then she saw her friends' worried eyes looking at her. So she laughed, a soft one, and smiled faintly to them.

"Are you okay, Shinomiya-san?" she heard Haibara asked her that question. She nodded.

* * *

_**At Miyuzaki Pharmaceutical and Chemistry Laboratory **_**(a)**_**, near the Beika Central Hospital…**_

It was 4:00 in the afternoon. Doctor Yanai and Doctor Akira had been working on the chemicals for almost a week. They have tested it for three times already but all of the results came in to be the same.

They were the same chemicals that paralyzed Kourin's left arm and leg during the robbery chase a month ago. And to make things even worst, they were the same chemicals found in the bullets used in a massacre a year ago that has a connection to Rin's past.

And Doctor Akira couldn't help but to feel scared for Kourin's life. And God! She was just a nine years old girl who was tried to be killed by some organization because of a family's secret.

She clenched her fists because of so many emotions overwhelming her.

_Are we chasing the same culprit once again? Oh God! Rin-chan's just a child… she doesn't deserve this kind of life. She's supposed to be living happy like a normal child. And now, if my intuition is right, Echizen-kun was only used as a bait to lure someone out of his hole. But who are they really after? His life revolves around tennis. He doesn't deserve to face this kind of predicament. Why does it have to start again?_

Doctor Akira couldn't find an answer to her question so she just sighed to calm herself down and stood up. Doctor Yanai, however, only watched her as she gets her phone inside her coat.

_Shouda, I know what you're thinking. But right now, we don't have anything in our hands for us to finish this. They need to deal with this by themselves. Rin-chan and Echizen-kun maybe are still young but it's up to them to do this and face it. We just have to help them in the shadow…_

As he glanced at her, he saw her dialing. And as she heard it rang, Doctor Akira looked at him.

"We should tell Agasa-hakase about the result of the tests."

He just nodded. And then he fixed the equipment used and cleaned himself before he took his things.

Doctor Akira heard the phone being picked up and she began telling to the person on the line about the results.

* * *

The clock has chimed 10 minutes when Ryoma slowly opened his eyes. The place seemed to be a little dark and his eyes became blurry for some seconds. He closed his eyes and opened them again. This time, his sight became a little clear.

He winced as he looked at the ceiling of that room. It was made of clear glass that's why he could see the stars. As he took a glance on one side of the room, he noticed a lamp switched on in which the color of the light was light blue. It was placed on a study table.

But it surprised him to see that a little girl was sleeping there. That's why he forced himself to sit up from the bed to take a good look. And then he looked around the room. _Where am I?_

He glanced at the sleeping girl again but then, he heard the chime of the clock beside the girl.

"Meow!"

He was startled when he heard a cat's meow. He then smiled when the Himalayan cat jumped to his master's bed. "Karupin!" The cat gave a soft purr as he felt Ryoma's hand stroking his fur. "How come you're here?"

"Your cat must have sensed that you're in danger the night of the storm."

Ryoma froze when he heard that voice. And when he glanced at the study table, he saw the little girl who was sleeping there a while ago sat and now, she was smiling at him.

The cat then left his master and approached the girl. She carried it and went towards him t hand him the cat.

"Good morning. And welcome back." She was still smiling at him, as if trying to calm him down and saying to trust her.

"Morning?"

The girl nodded. "It's already 1:30 in the morning." And then she drew open the curtains and slightly open the window to let the air in.

"I'm sorry."

The girl was surprised by his apology. So she turned around and glanced at him. "Why are you apologizing, Ryoma-niichan?"

"Well…" he paused to think of how to explain it. "I disturbed you from your sleep. You're supposed to be sleeping and yet—"

"Don't mind it. It's okay." She abruptly stopped him from explaining. And then she suddenly chuckled. "Oh! You might be wondering why I know your name."

"Not really. Anyway, where am I?" And then he looked around the room.

"Well, we're at Agasa-hakase's house. We found you holding tight on a tree trunk while floating on the river. If I hadn't noticed your cat bleeding because of shrub thorns, I wouldn't know you're under the bridge."

Ryoma smiled faintly. "Thank you."

The cat meowed and the girl smiled. "By the way, I'm Rin. Shinomiya Kourin, nine years old and currently in 4th grade."

Then he became quiet after that.

Kourin sighed. "You must be worried about your family." Ryoma didn't speak. "We're not really sure if we should call your parents because of the conclusion we had when we saw the gunshot wounds on your body."

"You just did the right thing. I don't want to involve them in any danger that I'm facing now." And he felt his cat's soft fur brushing off his hand, and then it meowed, as if trying to comfort him.

He tried to move his feet, but for some reason, he couldn't. Ryoma then looked at Kourin, the girl saw fear and confusion in his eyes. She shook her head and glanced at him sadly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, even more confused.

"The bullets used to shoot you the night of the storm contained some chemicals in which it can paralyze the organs if it penetrated throughout the body. The gunshot wound on your thigh had those chemicals. Though some of it was removed, some of it had managed to penetrate your nerves, thus making you unable to move your feet. But don't worry. It will only be temporary, according to Akira-sensei." Kourin smiled and then she switched on the lights, automatically switching off the lamp.

"I'm hungry…" Ryoma whispered but Kourin heard it.

She walked towards the door. But before she opened the door, she turned around and looked at Ryoma. "I'll bring you some food here so please wait for it, Ryoma-niichan." He slightly blushed for he never thought the girl heard him.

And Kourin went out of that room.

_That girl… _he thought. _Even though she's smiling, her eyes still looked sad… _But he brushed it off his mind and looked outside the window on the ceiling.

* * *

**a… The Miyuzaki Pharmaceutical and Chemistry Laboratory was one of the famous labs in Japan located in the Beika District founded by Rin's grandmother, Miyuzaki Mina, who happened to be a gifted young chemist during her days at the age of 14. Kourin's mother, who happened to be Kudo Yuusaku's sister, Kudo Rina, once worked there as an inventor, a biochemist, and a forensic examiner in cooperation with the police.**

* * *

**Phew! Okay, another chapter is done and another one coming right up.**

**It's really hard writing a crossover fanfiction… and I only realized that after I finished writing this story of Conan, Ryoma, and Kourin.**

**Anyway, I'm not complaining much. In fact, it's so fulfilling when you're done writing it. Especially when writing is your first love, right?**

**4 down, 13 more to go…**

**Just wait for the next chapter, okay?**

**Coming up… Chapter 4: Dispelling The Worries.**


	5. Dispelling The Worries

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors.

**Author's note: **I'm really, really sorry for a way late update about this. Anyway, it's not obvious but one part of this chapter will be about Ryoma trying to get rid of his mother's worries. But will he succeed in doing that? And then he will start to become curious about Kourin that made him determined to do something for it. I know that he might be acting a little bit like Conan but he can't help it. (hehe) It might be weird but just bear with it, okay?

**Warning: **The characters might not be in their usual selves.

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**THE TARGETED TENNIS PLAYER OF SEIGAKU**

**~~CHAPTER FOUR~~**

**Dispelling The Worries**

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Kourin went to the kitchen where the light was turned on by someone. She sneaked in there and she saw Professor Agasa having a midnight snack… or maybe an early breakfast.

"Hakase, why are you down here this early?" Kourin asked the professor as she went towards the refrigerator and opened it to look for food to be eaten by Ryoma.

"What are you looking for?"

"I'm going to find food for Ryoma-niichan to eat. He just woke up and he said he's hungry," she said without looking at the professor.

"Eh? He's awake?" She shushed him when his voice rose because he's surprised. "So? How is he?" he whispered.

"Well, he found out that he couldn't move his feet temporarily and I said it's because of the chemicals but I managed to explain it to him." She took a bag of ham and two eggs there and she closed the refrigerator by leaning her back against its door. "Hakase, can you help me cook his food?"

Professor Agasa smiled and then stood up from his seat.

Both Kourin and the professor cooked the food. And when they're done, they took the tray of food cooked for Ryoma to the room.

But while they were trailing the stairs, Kourin became quiet that made the professor worry.

"What's wrong, Rin-kun?"

Kourin slightly shook his head. "It's nothing. But you see, I can't help thinking if we should call Ryoma-niichan's parents just to assure them he's all right."

"Well, it's actually up to him to do that. Right now, all that we can do is to help him and we need you and Shinichi to solve the case."

Kourin sighed. "I guess you're right." And thenm she remembered something. "Oh, right! Hakase, did Akira-sensei called about the results of the test?"

"Aah! Now that you mentioned it, she did call yesterday afternoon."

"And how did it go?" she asked quietly, but somehow, her heart began to beat fast.

"Well, she said that those were the same chemicals found in your parents' and your brother's wounds during the autopsy. So it only concludes that—" he abruptly stopped talking when he realized what he's saying. "I'm sorry. I said too much."

"It's okay, hakase. I also thought of the same thing. But I'm wondering why and what are they after Ryoma-niichan to let him have the same predicament I'm facing."

This time, the professor sighed. "Whatever the case, we need to look out for him and protect him. I'm quite sure he had been through a lot. And it's obvious to know that it's not easy for him."

"You're right, hakase…"

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Ryoma still tried to move his feet but to no luck. He doesn't want to show that he's confused about what's happening but it seems that this was the consequence for avoiding those guys that had put him in this predicament.

_Mom… Oyaji… Nanako-san... I wonder how you're all doing without me… _And he looked out the side window.

That's when he heard the door opened and Kourin entered with a small tray along with a fat man who carried a bigger tray. _This man must be Agasa-hakase that she mentioned earlier._

The two placed the trays on the side table. And then Kourin faced to him.

"Oh, by the way, this is Agasa Hiroshi-hakase. He's the owner of this house."

Ryoma slightly smiled to the professor. "Nice to meet you. And… thank you… for taking care of me."

Professor Agasa laughed softly. "You shouldn't thank me. Rin-kun here was the one you're supposed to thank with. She's the one who found you and took care of you when you were having a high fever 3 days ago."

"I-Is that so?" Ryoma looked at Kourin and he saw her fixing the food from the tray. "T-thank you, Shinomiya-san…"

She smiled. "Rin-chan would be fine."

"Are you sure?" Kourin nodded. And then she placed a bed table in front of him and placed all the foods. "You said you're hungry so you should eat now. You haven't eaten for a week and the dextrose was the only thing that's feeding you during those times."

"B-but… it seemed to be too many." Ryoma answered as he avoided the girl's stare.

In which Kourin found it amusing. "Don't worry. Hakase and I decided that we will join you so that you could eat a lot. You need energy to restore your strength so you could help yourself to walk again."

And that early breakfast was a lot of fun for Ryoma and Kourin. Professor Agasa talked a lot about his inventions that mostly fails or malfunctions. They couldn't help but laugh.

The room was soundproofed, anyway, so they wouldn't disturb Haibara and Conan from their sleep.

But all of this laughter faded when Professor Agasa noticed Ryoma's sad face that made both the professor and Kourin worry.

"You're really worried about your family and friends, huh?"

Ryoma heard that concerned voice of the little girl. When he glanced at her, she stood up and took something from the drawer of the study table. And when she walked towards him, she handed him a cell phone.

"Just give them a call. At least, they should know that you're still alive."

He's still doubtful if he's going to call his family. He then saw the professor slightly nodded and he took a deep breath. And then he took the cellphone from Kourin's hand.

_I don't know how to thank you, Rin-chan… _Ryoma thought as he started punching the buttons on the cell phone.

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_**At the Echizen residence, 5:30 in the morning …**_

A week later from the incident on the night of the storm…

Rinko stared outside the window of the bedroom… Ryoma's bedroom. She became quiet and sad ever since Ryoma hasn't returned. Even though Nanjiroh and Nanako tried to cheer her up, it was useless.

It seemed that Ryoma's disappearance had made a huge impact on her. And not just to her.

Even Nanjiroh and Nanako suffered, as well.

For the past week, Rinko stayed in Ryoma's room and waited for her son's return. While Nanako and (maybe not obviously) Nanjiroh patiently waited at the door and on the phone. They were hoping that Ryoma would at least inform them on his whereabouts.

Nanako was in the kitchen and Nanjiroh was nowhere to be seen when the phone rang. She immediately placed the plates on the table and ran towards the phone. And she was both surprised and happy when she heard the voice on the other line.

"Hello?" the voice asked in a trembling tone, as if afraid of what she'll say.

"Ryoma-san? Is that you?" Nanako asked to make sure.

"Yeah… it is me." Ryoma sighed when she heard her voice. "How are thing going on there?"

"Your parents were worried. Where are you, anyway? Wait! I'll call Obaa-sama to know you're calling. Just wait there! Don't hang-up the phone." And she placed the phone on the table and ran upstairs to call Rinko. She was catching her breath when she reached the room.

"Nanako, why are you running? Did something happen?" Rinko asked.

"Ryoma-san… is on the phone. You need to talk to him."

As soon as Rinko heard Ryoma's name, she ran downstairs and reached the table where the phone was placed. "Ryoma…" she immediately cried when she said her son's name.

"Mom… I'm sorry…" Ryoma could only say.

"Where are you? You haven't returned home for a week now. We were worried about you? What happened?"

Ryoma only sighed when he heard Rinko's worried voice. "Mom… I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to make you worry like this but… I have to do this."

Rinko frowned. "Do what?"

"I have to keep you out of danger. Don't worry. I'm safe. Somebody's taking care of me."

She was surprised when she heard Ryoma said the word 'danger'. "What do you mean you have to keep us out of danger? Ryoma, what's going on?"

Ryoma paused for a little while. "I'll tell you soon. It's not yet time. Anyway, I need to hang-up the phone. I'll call you soon and I'll explain everything that's going on."

Rinko silently cried. "Ryoma…"

"I'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry. Please take care of yourselves. I'll be back as soon as I can. Just stay safe until that time. Bye, Mom." And with that, Ryoma cut the phone call that left Rinko stunned and worried. Nanako could only approach her and calm her down as she cried silently.

_Ryoma… what's going on? Are you in danger?_

And Rinko remembered her son's words.

_Just stay safe… huh? Was Ryoma became involved in my husband's previous predicament? Oh please, help my son survive this!_

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_**Professor Agasa's house…**_

As soon as he cut the phone call, Ryoma handed the cellphone back to Kourin. "Thank you."

"How did it go?" Kourin simply asked as she fixed the tray and the plates.

Ryoma srugged and sighed. "Well, she cried. Even though it was faint, I could hear her cry. And Nanako-san was looked even more worried than my mom."

"Well, that's how mothers are. You just have to deal with it." And then Kourin carried the tray but Professor Agasa tool it from her. "Hakase…?"

The professor smiled. "I'll be the one to bring this to the kitchen. You should accompany Ryoma-kun here. I bet Shinichi and Ai-kun are awake now." And like that he left them.

"Sorry about the trouble." She heard him said it sadly.

She shook her head and sat on the bed. "You don't have to apologize. I bet you're having hard time dealing about something. Anyway, Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei will be helping you walk again. She said your case will only be temporary so you don't have to worry."

And then all of a sudden, the Himalayan cat meowed and she touched its fur. She smiled when doing this. "I wonder what's your name, little guy."

Ryoma couldn't help but smile at this. "His name is Karupin."

"I think it's a cute name." While she was touching the cat's fur, she remembered something. "Ah, by the way, I've met Momoshiro-san and Fuji-san the day after we found you on the river."

Ryoma was stunned with what she said. "You've met Momo-senpai and Fuji-senpai?" She nodded and noticed his stunned face. That's why she smiled faintly. "If you're worrying about that, I didn't tell them where you are. Basing on the gunshot wounds that you had, I couldn't help but to conclude that you're in danger the night you fell on the river. So…"

He didn't say anything about it. Kourin played with the cat.

_It seems to me that this kid… Rin-chan… could feel all of my worries and fears, as if we were facing the same predicament. _He looked at Kourin's eyes. _It's as if… she's living in the same dangerous world as I am now, _he noted as he continued looking at the girl's sad eyes.

She seemed to have noticed his stare, that's why she looked at him. He avoided it just in time.

"Ryoma-niichan… are you okay?" Kourin asked.

He looked at the girl again. "Yeah. Why?"

She shook her head. "I just wanted to ask what happened that night…" she paused and looked at the cat. "…that night when you faced that danger. And who are those involved in it."

Ryoma couldn't open his mouth. He's not sure if he's going to tell the little girl about the danger he had that night. It took him a while before he came up with a decision.

He was about to speak when the door suddenly opened. He looked at the door and he saw a boy with huge glasses entered, along with a sandy-brown haired girl. All were just the same age as Kourin.

Kourin sighed and approached the two kids. "You should've at least knock, Conan-kun."

"Well, we just heard from Hakase that Ryoma-niichan was awake already. So I thought we could ask him about—"

"Don't even think about it," Haibara said in a bland tone. "He just woke up from his week-long slumber and yet you're going to disturb him by raining your questions."

Conan glowered at Haibara. "Haibara…"

"Ai-chan has a point," Kourin stated, glancing at Ryoma. And the she approached him. "Ryoma-niichan, will it be okay if I leave you here for a while? I have to discuss something with Conan-kun and Ai-chan, if you don't mind."

"I really don't mind, but…" he stopped talking as if thinking of what to say.

"It's okay if you can't tell it for now. It might be hard for you. So I'm sorry if I forced you to answer it."

Ryoma shook his head. "You don't have to apologize. By the way, if ever you meet them again, will you not tell them about—"

"I understand. You have to keep them out of danger, right?" He nodded. And Kourin smiled as she approached the cat. "Karupin, take care of your master for a while, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can," she said quietly to the cat as she stroked his fur. And like that, Conan, Haibara, and Rin left that room.

Ryoma looked outside the window and he saw the sunrise.

_I have to keep them out of danger. And of course, I want to know something about Rin-chan and those men who are chasing me a week ago. There's something… hidden about that girl. But how will I do that?_

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**Phew! Finally, I finished typing another chapter.**

**It's really hard thinking that Ryoma could possibly act as a detective. But at the very least, this story is progressing. I could only hope I finished typing all of the chapters by the end of the school term.**

**5 down, 12 more to go.**

**Coming up… Chapter 5-Investigation of the Detective Boys.**


	6. Investigation Of The Detective Boys

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors.

**Author's note: **At this part of the story, the Detective Boys will begin to conduct a slight investigation. This chapter will give us a glimpse about Doctor Akira's younger sister, Akira Shouko, and one of the members of the Dark Rose Agency. And a small part of Kourin's past will be seen here. This also includes Ryoma learning the truth about his situation. It's kind of long so… Don't forget to read and review, okay? I could only hope that this is a good chapter.

**Warning: **The characters might not be in their usual selves.

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**THE TARGETED TENNIS PLAYER OF SEIGAKU**

**~~CHAPTER FIVE~~**

**Investigation of the Detective Boys**

* * *

"Oi, Rin! Why did you let us out of that room?" Conan asked Kourin as he followed her to the living room.

"It's not yet time for us to question Ryoma-niichan about what happened to him. I asked him before you two barges in the room but he's not sure if he's going to answer it."

"Is that so?" Haibara looked at her. "Then how are we going to start investigating his case if we don't get any clues and information from him?"

The three fell silent.

"Oh, by the way, did Akira-sensei call about the chemicals she's investigating?" he asked, facing Kourin.

Kourin nodded. "She called Agasa-hakase yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure about the details but you can ask him if you want." And then she stood up and walked towards the door as they heard someone rang the doorbell.

Conan frowned. "Rin, is there something that you're not telling us? You've been acting weird ever since we saved Echizen-kun."

That made her stopped from her tracks. And then she turned around and faced him. "If you want to know the truth, we need to finish solving Ryoma-niichan's case. If I'm not mistaken… his current case and my past have a distinctive connection. Let's just hope he won't suffer the same way I did a year ago because of _that incident_." She headed straight to the door to open it.

Conan and Haibara were baffled with what she said. He glanced at Rin with confusion written on his face.

_**What was that supposed to mean?**_

"Edogawa-kun, have you asked Hakase about this?" Haibara inquired silently.

He shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure is I should ask Hakase about Rin. She doesn't even talk to anyone when she arrived here wounded."

When Kourin opened the door, she saw Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta, Doctor Akira and Doctor Yanai there.

"Everyone, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"We're the Detective Boys, right? That's why we're here to help you and Conan-kun investigate with the case," Mitsuhiko happily said.

"But you'll get caught in danger if you—"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Genta suddenly said. "We've already solved dangerous cases before you came."

Ayumi happily nodded. "Genta-kun's right. We're your friends, remember? We're here to help each other."

Kourin sighed and intently looked at them. "This case is not as easy as you think it is. We're already dealing with someone even more dangerous than any of the criminals you've faced before."

"Rin-chan…" Doctor Akira could only say.

When Kourin realized what she had said, she bowed to them. "I'm sorry. I guess I've said too much."

Conan stared at her as the others accepted her apology. _ I'm definitely going to solve this case! And I'm going to know Rin's secrets that lie hidden within this case._

"Rin-san, is Ryoma-niichan already awake?" Ayumi asked.

She nodded. "But… right now, he's worried about his family and confused about his situation."

"You mean… he found out?" Haibara asked her.

"Yeah. But I told him not to worry since it will be temporary. Although I'm sure he won't take it lightly." And then she looked at Doctor Akira. "Sensei, what about the results of your tests?"

The said doctor smiled. "Shin and I managed to know the components but we need someone's help for us to make an antidote for it."

"Someone's help?" The others were puzzled by it but Conan and Kourin knew exactly what was she talking about.

And while the other kids were wondering about it, Professor Agasa came out of the kitchen.

"Ah! Rin-kun, Ai-kun, Conan-kun, could you come here in the kitchen for a while?" He noticed the guest standing by the door. "Everyone, Ryoma-kun is already awake. You can visit him in Rin-kun's room, if you want. And Akira-sensei, Yanai-sensei, can you please explain the situation to him? He's a bit confused right now."

"That's what we came to do today." Doctor Yanai guided the other kids upstairs where the room was located.

Haibara, Kourin, Conan and Professor Agasa then headed to the kitchen.

* * *

_**In the kitchen…**_

"What's wrong, hakase? Calling us all of a sudden…" Then Conan glanced at Kourin who became quiet.

The professor sighed and looked at Haibara. "Ai-kun, since you're a chemist, could you help Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei make the antidote for the chemicals?"

"So it was me they're referring to when they said that they're going to need someone's help." She sighed. "I get it. Don't worry. I'll do the best I can to help them make the antidote."

"Shinichi, you will be helping Rin-kun to investigate Ryoma-kun's case. By the way, Rin-kun…" The girl looked at the portly professor when she heard her name. "There was a call from someone you knew. She said her name was Shouko."

"Shouko-san? Why did she call you?" Kourin was surprised to know the news.

The professor shrugged. "Who knows. But she said something about the Dark Rose. I think it's really important for you to know that since it seemed that she's in a hurry when she called."

She was stunned and her eyes widened at the same time when she heard that. "Dark… Rose?" she mumbled as she tried to absorb the thought in her mind.

"Dark Rose? Is that some kind of organization?" Conan asked but it seemed that Kourin didn't hear him. "Oi, Rin!"

Kourin was startled and then she looked at him and Haibara with shocked eyes full of fear.

"What's wrong, Shinomiya-san?" Haibara asked silently in a concerned tone. Kourin shook her head.

Conan frowned and looked worriedly at his cousin. "Rin, are you alright?"

The girl nodded and showed a faint smile to them. "I'm fine. It's just that… I'm just surprised with what I heard." Then she faced Professor Agasa. "Hakase, did she tell you anything more after that?"

"Hmm…" The professor tried to recall the phone conversation. "She just said that the Dark Rose are on the move to destroy a target. And she wanted you to know who so she said that she'll call you later."

"Is that so?"

Conan and Haibara looked at Kourin intently as the professor talked to the girl.

And right now, Kourin couldn't hear anything about what the professor just said.

_Dark… Rose… It seemed that I'll be facing my dark past sooner than I thought. But if they're also after Ryoma-niichan, who is their real target?_Her thoughts plunged deeper in her mind. And suddenly, she remembered something. _Papa, Mama, I know you wanted me to live that's why you saved me that night. Onii-sama, I know you wanted it that way, too. But I have to do whatever it takes for me to save Ryoma-niichan so that he wouldn't suffer the same sorrow and pain I had when I lost almost all of those people I care about in the whole world. I wouldn't let him feel the same way._

"Rin-kun, are you listening?"

Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard that. When she realized it was Professor Agasa, she immediately apologized to him. Conan could only observe Kourin's actions.

Haibara observed Conan, nevertheless. And as she observed Kourin, as well, she noticed a certain emotion in the girl's eyes.

An emotion well-hidden from them ever since Kourin arrived at Professor Agasa's house.

_Fear… Why do I see that in Shinomiya-san's eyes now? And that time… That time she heard the words "Dark Rose"… she was surprised and had become silent. There's definitely something behind those words._ And suddenly, Haibara remembered something that Kourin said a while ago.

"_If I'm not mistaken, his current case and my past has a distinctive connection…"_

"_This case is not as easy as you think it is. We're already dealing with someone even more dangerous than any of the criminals you've faced before..."_

_Just what does she mean by that?_

Unknown to Haibara, Conan was also thinking of the very same thing. _**Dark Rose… **Why does Rin become scared when she heard that? And she said that "we're dealing with someone even more dangerous than any of the criminals we've faced before. Wait! Could it be that… she's dealing with…?_

At that moment, Kourin heard her cellphone rang. Though hesitant, she answered the call. She felt relieved when she heard a familiar voice on the line.

"Hello, Rin-chan?"

"Shouko-san, why did you call?" When she asked that, she heard something weird on the phone. "Say, where are you right now? I'm hearing something weird over there."

"Aah… I'm on a train right now. I'll be catching a plane to Hokkaido tonight. It appeared that I have a lead to where the Dark Rose's members are located. And I also have to finish the research that Nanako-chan and I are currently working on."

"Is that so? Is there any other news about them?" After she asked that, she had turned on the loudspeaker so that the others could hear the conversation, as well.

"Yeah. They began to move again. And according to our spy in the organization, someone who had a secret connection to the Shinomiya clan is their current target… for them to lure out a certain person out of his hole."

Kourin frowned. "Wait, did you say that their current target is someone connected to my family? I don't understand…"

"Me, either. But I've investigated through it and I've found something that I don't know if it will surprise you."

"What do you mean by that?"

She heard Shouko sigh over the phone. "Apparently, that certain someone connected to the clan is someone who's famous right now in a certain activity. And that is—" Shouko stopped talking on the other line.

And at that moment, all of them were listening to the call heard a loud noise on it. A gunshot sound.

"What was that? Why is there a gunshot?" Conan asked but all they could do was to listen.

Kourin, that time, was worried about Shouko's situation. "Shouko-san! Shouko-san! What's going on? What was that gunshot we heard?"

She could hear the woman catch her breath, as if she had just ran away from her current position. "I'm sorry, Rin-chan, but I have to end our conversation for now. I'll call you back once I finished investigating the case, okay?" After that, the phone call was cut.

Professor Agasa approached Kourin. "Rin-kun…"

Conan and Haibara approached her, too, as she put her cellphone back in her pocket.

"Shinomiya-san, are you alright?" Kourin nodded and managed to give a faint smile to them.

_Shouko-san… It seems that the chase will begin once again, huh? They do that for them to completely destroy me and those people with connection to my family. Please… be careful,_ she thought as she kept on worrying about her friend… and Doctor Akira's younger sister.

* * *

_**Inside a traveling train going to the airport…**_

Akira Shouko **(a)** was running inside the train after that gunshot. She didn't want Kourin to know but that gunshot was actually meant to kill her.

It's a good thing that her senses were sharp, that's why she managed to evade it.

She glanced at her back and she saw an auburn-haired woman holding a gun chasing her. That woman continued to shoot her but she really need to evade it because she knew the contents of the bullets inside that woman's gun.

Her sister, Doctor Akira Shouda, once told her about the contents of the bullets used to kill Kourin's family one night just a year ago.

_I'm not going to let myself be killed by that woman! Not until I finished my mission to the Shinomiya family and fulfill my promise to Rin-chan…_

And as she managed to hide herself from her pursuer, she couldn't help but to remember the day she had given an oath to Rin… an oath that will determine the fate of the only surviving member of the Shinomiya family…

* * *

**_Flashback; Shinomiya mansion; Miami, Florida..._**

_It's been half a month after that gruesome death _**(b)**_ and Kourin was still in shock about what happened that night. Though she's doing fine, she rarely talks to anyone, except if it was Doctor Shouda Akira or the doctor's sister, Akira Shouko._

_One night, Shouko went to Kourin's room to check the kid's condition, as her sister asked her to do. But she never expected that she'd find the girl in the family dojo where she trained sword fighting and kendo. The young girl was holding the katana once used by the head of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Ryuuki._

_She approached the girl but stopped in her tracks when she saw tears fell from Kourin's eyes. She couldn't help but to feel sorry for her since her family, the people she loved most in the world, died in a single night… and she's just eight years old._

"_Rin-chan… why are you here?" Shouko went near the girl and sat beside her._

_Kourin placed the sword on the wooden floor. "I just want to calm myself for a while. It's really hard for me to cry everyday… even though I'm sure those tears won't bring them back to me no matter how hard I wish for it."_

_Shouko fell silent. And then she looked at the sword. "Rin-chan… I'm really sorry." Kourin glanced at her. "If I was here during that time… If I hadn't leave you just to take a vacation… I could've… I could've managed to save them." And then she let her tears fell down her face._

_And because of those tears that made her vision blurred, she didn't notice the young girl stood up in front of her. She felt Kourin's soft hands cupped her face as the girl's finger wiped the tears on her face._

"_Rin-chan…" And Shouko was surprised to see Kourin smiling at her._

"_I'm alright. And you don't have to apologize. Besides, you needed to rest that time since you deserve it for all the work you've done for us." And then she hugged her. "I'll be fine now. Mama and Papa risked their lives to protect me. Onii-sama did the same thing. It would be hard for me but I have to move on."_

_As she heard those words from the little girl, she couldn't help but to cry harder and hug her in return._

"_Please stop crying, Shouko-san." And then the girl looked at her. "You have to move on, as well. I know you respected and loved my family as much as your sister. That's why I thank you, from the bottom of my heart."_

_She wiped Kourin's tears and smiled. "It's me who should thank you. I never said this to your parents but if it wasn't for them, Onee-chan and I wouldn't be alive until now. That's why… I'll make an oath to you."_

_Kourin frowned. "An oath? What for?"_

"_I'll be protecting you from now on. And I'll do everything I can with my skills to find the people who killed your family."_

"_You don't have to go that far. Besides, it will be hard for you to locate them."_

_Shouko smiled. "But you remembered their mark, right? It's going to be okay. I'll find your family's killer before your coming-of-age ceremony. And I promise you, I'll come back alive."_

"_But—" The girl hasn't finished saying what she wanted to say when Shouko wagged her finger._

"_You shouldn't underestimate the skills of a member of the Miyuzaki clan _**(c) **_just because I'm a woman. I've trained hard to protect your family. This is the least I could do since I have failed to protect your parents and your brother. I'm going to uncover their true faces and defeat them so that you'll be able to leave peacefully. Okay?"_

_Kourin stared at her and then sighed. "Okay then. Just promise me, whether you succeed or not, you'll come back alive. Okay? I want to enjoy making chocolate fondant with you. Since you're really good at baking, I would like to learn a lot about it from you. And… you're going to teach me martial arts, so you better come back, okay?"_

_She smiled as she saw that the little girl was truly determined when saying those words. And then she nodded._

"_I will come back. I promise…"_

* * *

_That's right! That day, I promised her that I'll be back. So I'm not going to let that woman catch me and kill me. I'm not going to make Rin-chan cry so hard once again,_ Shouko thought as she pulled out the gun from her inner chest pocket.

She decided to escape from her pursuer by finding a chance to jump from the train's roof. It was hard to go there but she managed to do so. She ran on the roof but stopped in her tracks when she heard a woman spoke.

"Do you really think you can escape from me, Shouko?"

Shouko heaved a sigh and turned around. And then she smiled sarcastically. "Themis **(d)**, you're still proud as ever, huh? Well, I guess you're right. I really don't think I could escape from you. But I have to get away from you, since I made a promise to the princess."

The woman named Themis shook her head and pointed the gun to her. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Such a pity. With your training and experience, you could become an asset to the agency. Just tell me where the surviving princess is."

She stared at her unwaveringly. "I'd rather kill you than telling you that. You have to go through me first."

Themis laughed. "Do you really think you can kill me? Even though you came from the Miyuzaki clan, you still have no match for my skills. So I suggest—" she said as she slowly walked towards her. "—that you should just give up and tell me where the girl is."

Shouko slightly glanced below the roof. _It's going to the river. This is my chance to escape!_ And then she gazed back at Themis.

"Really? I have no match for your skills? Maybe. Don't worry, I'll be able to know the truth sooner or later. But right now…" she walked sideward and reached the edge of the train's roof. "I still have a promise to fulfill."

As soon as she said that and when the train traveled to the bridge, she jumped of the roof.

But it seemed that Themis wasn't going to let her go like that easily. The woman continued to shoot at her as she was going down. Unfortunately, one of the bullets struck her left shoulder. And her gunshot wound was, in fact, through and through due to the impact on her body.

And after that, she fell into the cold river, as her vision began to blur. Her arm had started to get weak that's why she couldn't swim good. _I hope I can survive this. And… I'm sorry… Rin-chan…_

* * *

_**Back at Professor Agasa's house, inside Ryoma's room…**_

Ryoma continued to stare outside the window thinking about the life he's having now. He sighed as the memory of that stormy night rushed in his mind.

And that night resulted in his inability to walk right now, even though Kourin said it's temporary. But he has no idea how long would that "temporary" last.

He's still thinking when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. He just answered "Come in" since he couldn't stand and open the door.

Three kids entered that room, two boys and a girl. Along with them were two adults, a male and a female doctors. They were smiling when they entered so he doesn't have to fear anything.

_One of them must be Akira-sensei_, he thought as he saw them went near him.

"How are you feeling, Echizen-kun?" the female doctor asked as she placed her things on the side table.

"Well, I…" he sighed and looked at his legs covered in blanket. He suddenly felt small hands held his hands. He glanced at the little girl who then gave him a faint smile.

"It must have been hard for you, Ryoma-niichan." Ayumi then glanced at Karupin who stayed near him. "Even this cute cat went out and searched for you in the midst of the storm. That's why he was injured when Rin-san saw him. Anyway, Ryoma-niichan, what's his name?"

"Karupin," he answered placidly but inside, he was amused and quite restless to see a lot of people worry about him. In which he was not used of.

Doctor Yanai chuckled when he saw Ryoma's "hidden" expression. And then he faced and called out the freshman.

"What time did you finally wake up, Echizen-kun?"

Ryoma took some time to think and remember the time Kourin mentioned a while back. "Rin-chan said it's 1:30 in the morning when I asked her."

And the kids called out his attention.

"We're sorry. We didn't even introduced ourselves to you. By the way, I'm Yoshida Ayumi."

"I'm Tsubaraya Mitsuhiko. Nice to meet you."

"Kojima Genta, leader of the Detective Boys."

Ryoma frowned a bit. "Detective Boys?"

The kids smiled and nodded. "We've already solved a lot of cases together. Aah… Conan-kun, Ai-chan and Rin-san were our members, too," Ayumi proudly said.

Though he doesn't understand some of it, he looked at the two doctors who were just chuckling at the sight of it. And then they just shrugged their shoulders.

"Anyway, we're going to conduct a health check for us to know your current condition. In case you're wondering, my name is Akira Shouda. Rin-chan might have mentioned my name to you."

Ryoma nodded. And then he glanced at the other doctor.

"My name is Yanai Shinichiro. We're the ones who helped you during your whole week of slumber."

He avoided their stares. "Thank you… and I-I'm sorry for the trouble."

"You don't have to apologize to us, Ryoma-niichan. Besides, we're here to at least help you with your case."

The freshman was stunned by what Ayumi just said. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Doctor Akira suddenly spoke. "Let me explain it to you. We are helping these kids investigate because we believe that your case and the past case that I've encountered might have been a connection. If not, these cases were just the same."

"The same? How come?" Now Ryoma became confused with what the doctor said.

"The chemicals that Shin and I found in your wounds were the exact chemicals we found in one case. The bullets used to shoot you and the bullets found at a crime scene in that past case… It led us to conclude that the people whose after you and those that we're trying to locate were just the same."

Mitsuhiko frowned. "Now I'm having a hard time understanding what Akira-sensei just said."

"Me, too," Ayumi said. "But Akira-sensei, just because the chemicals you found in that past case you're mentioning and in Ryoma-niichan's wounds were the same, that doesn't mean you are going to conclude that they were the same people, right?"

"Ayumi-chan has a point," Genta nodded as he said that.

Doctor Yanai was about to speak when Doctor Akira stopped him. "But Shouda…"

She smiled. "Let me handle this, Shin. This might help Echizen-kun understand his situation right now." And then she faced the baffled freshman while Karupin continued to meow. She heaved a sigh to calm herself. "The past case that I'm talking about happened a year ago in America. To be exact, it happened in Miami, Florida. During a reunion at a mansion of a wealthy Japanese family, a group of people who appeared to be one of the greatest group of assassins in the world suddenly broke into the mansion and killed each and everyone inside. That group of people were later known to be the Dark Rose Agency **(e)**."

Ayumi became afraid. "D-Dark Rose? Who were they?"

Even Mitsuhiko and Genta felt the same. But for Ryoma, he listened intently to each and every words the doctor said.

"The Dark Rose never left anybody in that house alive. A total of 176 people were killed in just one night. When the bodies were discovered the day after that, I was a part of the CSI who investigated that massacre." And then she became quiet.

"Is that the case you mentioned earlier that might have a connection to Ryoma-niichan's case? If a massacre had happened and a lot of people were killed, don't you think the media would actually know and release information about that?" Mitsuhiko inquired.

Doctor Akira shook her head. "That case is not what you think it was. That particular case remained to be a confidential one up until now. So in other words, anyone but the police didn't know any information about the massacre… including the evidences that we found at the crime scene."

"Does that mean no one can manufacture the same chemicals except for the criminals themselves?" Ayumi asked and the doctor nodded.

Doctor Yanai was seemed to be troubled that Ryoma and Doctor Akira noticed.

"What's wrong, Shin?"

Doctor Yanai looked at her. "Shouda, is it really okay for you to tell the kids this much? Without _her_ consent?"

She fell silent for a while and then she glanced at Ryoma.

"Even without _that person_'s consent, I'm sure she'll understand why I have to tell this information to them. Sooner or later, these kids—most especially Echizen-kun—will be deeply involved in this current case no matter how much we try to prevent it. We couldn't do anything but to at least give them some information that might help them."

The kids were puzzled with what the doctor said but somehow, they had understood some of it. Ryoma couldn't help but to think about it until he had asked himself some questions.

_Could it be that the case Akira-sensei mentioned earlier… has a connection to Rin-chan? A case that has remained confidential up until now… The chemicals that paralyzed me were the same ones found at the previous case… How does the pieces of the puzzle connects to her? I guess it's not enough to conclude something right now._

Ryoma didn't say much when the two doctors examined him. The three kids played with Karupin while talking to him and telling him about the cases that the Detective Boys had solved.

But still, his mind were somehow glued about the thoughts of his family, his friends… and the mysteries of Shinomiya Kourin.

_Just what exactly is her secret?_

* * *

_**Outside Ryoma's room…**_

Conan and Haibara heard Doctor Akira's story about the previous case she had in America. It's a good thing that Kourin was not with them since the girl was talking privately to Professor Agasa.

And at this moment, Conan couldn't help but want to solve that past case and the mysteries surrounding his cousin Kourin. Even though the doctor stated the identity of the culprit, he still wanted to find out who they are and the reason for them to commit that crime.

"What are you thinking now, Kudo-kun?" Haibara asked him placidly.

Conan looked at her and after a moment or two, he sighed. "Now it makes me even more determined to know everything that happened to Rin before she came here. And if Akira-sensei was telling the truth, that the chemicals found in that past case and in Echizen-kun's wounds were the same, then… we just need an important clue that will complete the puzzle."

She frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"We just need a vital clue from Rin that will help me complete the puzzle of this case. Akira-sensei, Yanai-sensei and Rin know something about our current case. They already had a lead to it. And one more thing… The Dark Rose… There's surely something odd to it. Because Rin will not be surprised and scared like that if they had no connection to her."

"And so… what are you doing to do now?"

He fell silent and then he leaned his back on the wall. "For now, I have to think of a way how am I going to find a clue from Rin. I might even ask Hakase about this since she's opening up to him more."

It was that time when they saw Kourin approaching, along with Professor Agasa.

Conan and Haibara fixed themselves and waited for the two to enter the room. And when Kourin stopped there, she frowned when she saw Conan and Haibara looked at her seriously.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You're giving me the creeps, you know that?" Kourin asked.

The two just smiled that made her even more curious about what these two were up to.

"Don't mind us, okay? Just go inside the room," Conan said cheerfully.

She glowered at her cousin. "I thought you already entered here. You even barged in here a while ago, didn't you? It's impossible for me to believe you if you tell me that you're shy entering in here."

Professor Agasa and Haibara chuckled as she smiled and Conan glowered at her.

"Ha ha ha… Very amusing."

She chuckled and then knocked the door for the people inside that room to know that she would enter.

As the three kids entered Ryoma's room, Professor Agasa couldn't help but to remember his conversation with Kourin after Conan and Haibara left the kitchen…

* * *

**_In the kitchen, a few minutes earlier…_**

_Soon after Conan and Haibara left the kitchen to go to Ryoma's room, Professor Agasa waited for a while and when he confirmed that the two wasn't near anymore, he glanced at Kourin who was still staring blankly at the wall._

"_Rin-kun, are you sure you're not yet going to tell them the truth? Knowing Shinichi, this situation had already arouse his curiosity and he will be more determined to find out the truth about this."_

_Kourin sighed and stared at the professor._

"_But if ever I tell them the truth about me and Ryoma-niichan's possible connection to the case, I couldn't even guess what's going to happen to them." And then she glanced outside the window. "I don't want them to suffer like my parents… like everyone who had lost their lives because of their tight connection to my family."_

_The only thing that Professor Agasa could do at that moment was to calm her down._

"_You don't really want them to know that?" the professor asked._

_She could only smile faintly. "With this things happening now, my fate will be set in motion once more. It's not just me. Ryoma-niichan will be having a difficult time now. I'll tell them the truth once I regain the courage to do so. I just need some time to at least make them cautious about the new enemy."_

"_But Rin-kun… This new enemy, the Dark Rose… Who are they, anyway? And what are the reasons for them to hunt you down and kill you? They even included Ryoma-kun in this."_

_She fell silent for a while, as if trying to recall something. "If I recall what Oji-sama_** (f)**_ said the day he brought me here, they were after some secret of my family. Though I don't have any idea about it at all. In Ryoma-niichan's case, I couldn't conclude anything about it for now."_

"_Is that so?" And then he recalled something. "By the way, what are you going to tell Akira-sensei about Shouko-kun? She might have heard you shout when you called out Shouko-kun's name on the cellphone."_

"_Umm… I don't know. I have to wait for her call before I decide to do something about it. And about me shouting, well… I adjusted the time of the soundproof room so it should go off right after Shouko-neesan hang up the phone." And then she looked at the professor. "Hakase, please just let me tell them alone all about the truth. I might have a hard time explaining if others will tell them that."_

_Professor Agasa smiled and hugged Kourin. "You don't have to worry about that."_

"_Thank you… Hakase…"_

* * *

Professor Agasa's thought were disrupted when Conan suddenly called him. The boy's stares were giving him the creeps. He doesn't usually hide anything to this kid.

If it wasn't for Yuusaku's request, he might not have kept Kourin's secret up until now.

"Hakase, why are you standing there? You need to get inside. Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei are calling you now," Conan said.

He just laughed and entered. And then the two doctors had a conversation with them that the kids couldn't exactly hear. This situation gave Conan some suspicions to the professor himself that he actually knew something about… a certain thing.

And then Conan stared at Kourin and Ryoma who were having a good conversation in which Genta and Mitsuhko usually interrupt. Haibara and Ayumi just played with Karupin.

* * *

**a… **_Akira __Shouko _is the younger sister of Doctor Akira _Shouda _and a class and partner of Mieno _Nanako _in college. She is 20 years old, only four years younger than her sister, and she had developed a great respect and friendship with Shinomiya _Kourin_. Her real role to the Shinomiya family remained a secret to the Kudo family but it is implied to them that she works as a private investigator in order to blow the cover of the Dark Rose Agency.

**b… **_The gruesome death mentioned here was the massacre happened at the Shinomiya mansion. Only Kourin managed to survive that tragic night. More information about this will be revealed in __**Chapter 7 **__entitled "__**Behind Kourin's Determination**__". Just wait for it, okay?_

**c… **_The __**Miyuzaki clan **__is a fictional clan that I've written here who happened to be one of the greatest families of martial artists in the world. They were the ones who choose those people or family that they wanted to protect. Kourin's grandmother, Miyuzaki __Mina_, was one of the 10_th__ generation members and a direct descendant of the clan, and the Akira sisters, Shouda and Shouko, was some of the 12__th__ generation members. Details about this will be further explained (I hope) as the story progresses._

**d… **_Themis is one of the members of the Dark Rose Agency. She knew Shouko because it is her mission to eliminate her and the Shinomiya princess (Shinomiya Kourin). Her true identity will be revealed sooner._

**e… **_The Dark Rose Agency is an organization/syndicate who will be the main antagonist of this story. More about them and their linkage to a certain group will be explained in the later part of the story._

**f… **_The "Oji-sama" that Rin was referring to was Shinichi's father, Kudo Yuusaku, since he and her deceased mother were siblings._

* * *

**I'm really sorry for the way too late updating of this story since I've been extremely busy these past months because of the activities here at our school that I've barely touch the keyboard and mouse of the computer not unless it's really necessary. So I really don't have that much free time to encode the chapters.**

**Anyway, please leave your reviews for this. And thank you for adding this story to your alerts/favorites. Kindly give your comments for this story, if you have time.**

**I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can… whenever that is. I only hope it wasn't that long. ^_^**


	7. A Plot To Take Down The Target

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors.

**Author's note: **The main part of this chapter will be about the organization that was chasing after Ryoma and the ones responsible for the massacre happened a year ago in Miami, Florida (read Chapter 5 about this info). Though I'm not exactly good at plotting or writing the plans of the antagonist on a story, I hope I could at least explain a reasonable info of why the Dark Rose wanted to kill Ryoma and Kourin. Just don't forget what you have to do, okay? R & R, please!

**Warning: **The characters might not be in their usual selves.

* * *

**THE TARGETED TENNIS PLAYER OF SEIGAKU**

**~~CHAPTER SIX~~**

**A Plot To Take Down The Target**

* * *

_**The Dark Rose headquarters, somewhere in Tokyo…**_

_**The same day…**_

Outside the grand mansion in the suburbs, the gifts of nature were placed in a way that many visitors would admire even if what they see was just the breathtaking view of the fountains and gardens.

It's as if the mansion was built in a painter's imagination of his ideal garden.

But unknown to many people, beneath the grandest view of this great mansion lies a secret well hidden from many people for more than thirty years. A secret… that only the people inside the mansion knew.

This place was actually the headquarters of an organization only known as the Dark Rose Agency—an organization that have close ties to the Black Organization.

But the Dark Rose Agency wasn't actually following most of the orders and missions assigned to them by the Black Organization. For they have a different agenda as to why they've created that organization more than fifty years ago.

An agenda that was the same age as the creation of the organization.

This was the place where the members of that secret organization have their meetings to set their plans and missions. But this time, they have gone there to deliver the news about their missions.

And unfortunately, the five men who had chased Ryoma a week ago will be delivering a bad result of their mission.

Same goes to the one who had chased Shouko Akira, the one who was codenamed Themis.

All of the seventeen members left in the organization were having their meetings at the huge conference hall located on the third level of the underground basement of the mansion.

And this time, they will be having a meeting for their assigned missions.

The five tall men** (a)** were waiting at the entrance of the conference hall.

Coius, Crius, Iapetus, Poseidon and Hyperion were some of the highly skilled members of the Dark Rose Agency. But these skills of theirs were only tested in taking down their targets, not trying to get their targets to their boss, only known as Zeus** (b)**.

Themis, however, chose the mission to track down Akira Shouko and the Shinomiya princess for her personal reasons.

Reasons that had existed inside of her since she was sixteen.

The meeting at the conference hall was done and it's about time for them to deliver the result of their missions.

Themis entered the conference hall first, followed by the five tall men. They've sat to their designated seats.

The lights suddenly turned off and the oblong table emitted light. Followed by the huge computer monitor at the back of one end of the table where Zeus was sitting.

Zeus was actually a middle-aged man, probably in his 40's, with a blond hair and mustache. He had a fair skin and they could feel authority just by looking at his face; an indication of his position in that organization.

He stood up and looked unwaveringly to Poseidon.

"So where's the kid, Poseidon?" Zeus asked.

Poseidon scoffed and looked at the leader without fear. "He was probably drowned during the storm when he fell off the wooden bridge the night we chased him."

And all of a sudden, murmurs were heard inside that room. But it stopped when they heard a shout and a thump on the table.

An indication that Zeus didn't like the news at all.

"I told you to get that kid and bring him to me alive!" He then crumpled the paper on his table. "Now we don't have any other people that will lead us to that _old man_!"

The others shivered in fear but Poseidon didn't. It was like he was used to this.

"Why do you want to capture that tennis brat badly? You could've at least find his father and ask him," Hyperion said even though he's a little scared.

The other members waited for their leader's answer. And then Zeus sighed heavily and looked at them.

"That kid, Echizen Ryoma, is our only lead to the person who knew the hidden secret of the Shinomiya clan. We might have killed almost all of them but _that person_ still has an access to it since he is connected to that worthless family," Zeus stated as they could see the burning hatred in his age.

"That brat is our only lead? What about his father?" Iapetus then asked.

Zeus shook his head. "Nanjiroh doesn't have any idea about it at all. Sixteen years ago, we forced him to tell us something about it and he said that an old man was the one who knew it. He doesn't have any clue about the code of the clan that will open the door to that secret. Echizen Ryoma was close to that old man Nanjiroh was talking about."

Crius then spoke. "But there's still a possibility that the tennis kid is still alive, right? I mean, we did see him fell from the wooden bridge but for a week, we kept on looking for his body to be given to the boss as a proof. But we never saw his body floating on any of the rivers connected to it."

"Is that true?" Zeus looked at the five men.

They nodded. And then Zeus sat on the swivel chair.

"Okay, since you've failed to bring me that brat, this is your mission. Find him on every city that is connected to a river. If you have to search on each and every house and apartment there, I don't care. Just bring him to me… DEAD or ALIVE! Understand?"

"Roger!" The five men replied and then they left the conference hall.

Zeus then faced Themis who was standing on the entrance of the conference hall. And he does have an idea about the result of her mission.

"So you failed, huh?" he asked calmly.

Themis smiled and then she sat at her seat. "You can really tell that. Yeah, I failed. And it proves that you haven't killed the whole Shinomiya clan that night a year ago. The youngest child of Ryuuki and Rina is still alive. And if ever I could let that bitch tell me her location…" She clenched her fist as she remembered the incident at the train station.

"Calm yourself. There's still time. We'll finish our mission way before the coming-of-age ceremony of that girl." He again stood up and looked at the computer monitor.

It was a touch screen that's why when he pressed some parts there, two profiles in a minimized window appeared.

One was a profile of a young girl and the other was a profile of a middle schooler. And when another part was pressed, these two profiles appeared in a maximized window. This time, pictures of Shinomiya Kourin and Echizen Ryoma appeared along with their information.

_We'll kill that girl as a part of an ancient agenda of this organization. And Echizen Ryoma will die with her, as well… to erase all of the evidences. They'll die along with you, mysterious old man and… Echizen Nanjiroh! You're going to join that despicable family in hell!_

And then a sinister laughter was heard inside that conference hall that gave the creeps to the people inside that particular place.

* * *

_**At Professor Agasa's house, same day…**_

_**4:00 pm…**_

The examination done to Ryoma by the two doctors was finished. And Doctor Akira was smiling, probably an indication of a good news.

"So how did it go, Akira-sensei, Yanai-sensei?" Ayumi asked.

The doctors sighed and looked at the Detective Boys. "Echizen-kun will be fine. About his leg, well… we can make the antidote in just two days if you can wait that long, Echizen-kun." She then looked at the freshman.

"I-I don't really mind waiting but…" The freshman stared at Kourin and Professor Agasa. Bothe of them knew what it meant.

Even Conan and Haibara got the point.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Ryoma-niichan," said the innocent-looking Conan in a childish tone. "Agasa-hakase doesn't really mind you staying here until you are completely healed." And then he looked at the portly professor.

Professor Agasa nodded. "That's right. Until we can assure your safety, you can stay here as long as you can."

Kourin approached Ryoma and smiled. "If you're worried about the clothes, I can get my brother's spare clothes back at the house. You have the same physique as he was so I guess you wouldn't have to worry about the size."

"But what about my family… my friends? They'll get caught up in the danger," Ryoma said in a worried and scared tone.

Doctor Akira smiled. "You don't have to worry about that. The police knew about your situation and right now, they're investigating your case discreetly. Neither your family nor your friends will suspect that you're in danger. So take a rest there and we'll do our job to help you with your case. Okay?"

Ryoma hesitantly smiled and nodded. And then he sighed. "Thank you for your help." And then he looked at the smiling Kourin.

The doctors left the room, including Professor Agasa.

The Detective Boys stayed there and talked to Ryoma.

"Ryoma-niichan, it might be too early but can you please tell us anything about what happened to you a week ago? We couldn't start investigating unless you tell us something," Conan said innocently.

"But Conan-kun… Don't you think it might be hard for Ryoma-niichan to do that?" Mitsuhiko asked. "I mean, it might help us for the investigation if he would tell us something but—"

"It's okay," Ryoma suddenly said.

That made the kids glanced at him.

Haibara sighed. "Will it really be okay for you to tell us about it?"

He nodded. "After I heared Akira-sensei's story, I think I should at least cooperate about this."

Kourin frowned. _Story? Did Akira-sensei tell say something about the previous case in Miami, Florida a year ago?_ She thought. She wanted to ask him about the story that Ryoma was talking about but she decided to keep it to herself.

She'll know the reason soon enough.

The freshman sighed and the kids began to listen.

"It all started two months ago. While we're practicing for the Kantou Tournament, I kept on being cautious to my surroundings. The threat began during a late night practice when somebody seemed to keep notes about what I'm doing. There were times that they would insert some weird not inside my locker."

"Weird note? What does it say?" Conan asked. Kourin just listened intently.

Ryoma spaced out for a minute, trying to remember something and then he lifted his head. "I think it's—"

"_I'll expose your tail before the full moon. I'll cover you in crimson red very soon. Tell me your secret that you guarded well. Reveal everything before the final strike of the bell._" The freshman was surprised to hear the same words that came out from Kourin's mouth while he said it, as well. Even the others were surprised.

"R-Rin… How did you…?" Conan could only say.

Kourin smiled. "No doubt it's the Dark Rose. They wanted to know something or rather take something… or someone from you. And if you won't be able to give them what they want, expect that you're dead on the day of the full moon."

Ayumi approached her. "But Rin-san, how did you know if it was the Dark Rose?"

The girl shrugged. "It's just a feeling. But to tell you the truth, those were the same threats found written in a note pasted on the entrance of the mansion in Miami the day of the massacre." And then she faced Ryoma. "Does that note you're talking about was accompanied by a wilted rose and a black rose symbol printed on the paper?"

"Yeah, it does."

Then Genta approached Ryoma. "Ryoma-niichan, can you tell us more about that?"

The freshman sighed and then began speaking. "After that note was found on my locker, I never told anyone about it. Not even to my parents. After the late night practices, I always felt like somebody was following me. There were times that Momo-senpai accompanied me to go home. But I never thought I was putting him in danger until the night of the storm when those men began chasing me. I was shot twice. I never realized I was shot on my thigh, though. I felt the pain but the thing I could only think of was to escape from them… away from the danger that will affect my family and my friends."

They all fell silent after that. Conan looked at his seriously-looking cousin whose thoughts has somehow plunged deeper in her mind.

It's as if she was thinking about something. Like… trying to remember something. And then he glanced at Ryoma again.

"But Ryoma-niichan…" said Conan in a concerned tone. "Do you remember the face of the perpetrators who chased you and wanted you dead?"

"I don't think they want him dead," Kourin suddenly spoke that made the others looked at her.

"What do you mean by that, Rin-san?" Genta curiously asked.

"Yeah. You don't even know the criminal's plan," Mitsuhiko stated and then looked at Conan.

Kourin sighed. "If they really wanted him dead, they should've killed him right after the note was found on Ryoma-niichan's locker. And when they chased him the night of the storm, they only fired two shots that they knew it could penetrate through the nerves to stop him from running. But that would only happen if their target abruptly stopped from moving after the shot but he didn't. They didn't kill Ryoma-niichan because they wanted him alive and they want something from him. And they had to acquire it before the ceremonial full moon. Or at least that's what I know."

"And now, we only take the question of what do they want from him? Is that it?" Haibara asked.

She nodded.

"Ne, Ryoma-niichan, do you at least remember the faces of those people who chased you that night?" Ayumi asked.

"Well… They were five of them but I could only remember three since it was so dark that night." He tried to remember their faces by closing his eyes to get a clear vision. And then he opened his eyes again after more than a minute. "The one I remember the most was the man who shot me. He's the tallest one, like a giant, and he's wearing a black face mask. The other one was the man with a mustache and a long scar on his face. I think it's on the left side of his face. And the last one was the man with a big X-shaped scar on his face. I couldn't remember the other two."

_Those three men mentioned by Ryoma-niichan were just some of the members of the Dark Rose Agency who were after me and killed my family_, Kourin thought and then approached Ryoma.

"Can I ask you something, Ryoma-niichan? Do you have any idea why they were chasing you that night?"

Ryoma shook his head. "No idea."

And then Kourin turned her back to the others and walked towards the door. Conan noticed her.

"Where are you going, Rin?"

The girl stopped but she didn't look at them. "I have to go to Hakase's lab and do some researches for a while. I still need to finish my project," Rin said and then she left that room.

"Edogawa-kun…" Ryoma called out Conan's attention. "Is Rin-chan going to be okay? She seemed troubled."

The boy smiled at the freshman. "It's okay. She usually acts like that so I'm kind of used to it. She's fine. Don't worry."

"But you know, I've felt that I haven't seen the real Rin-san yet. It's like there's still something about her that prevents her from expressing her true self," Ayumi commented in a soft tome but loud enough for Ryoma and Conan to hear it.

Conan smiled and looked at the picture frame with Kourin's family on it. "Though we haven't seen her true self yet, it's still obvious that she had changed a lot ever since we included her in our group a few months ago."

"You're right!" Genta agreed. "She never smiles before or talk to anyone except Conan."

"She's like avoiding to befriend someone as much as possible. She never have anything fun to do."

Ryoma kept on listening and he couldn't help but to interrupt. "Does that mean Rin-chan is just new in your group?"

The kids nodded.

"But you know, Shinomiya-san does act a lot like Edogawa-kun in some way. Besides being smart, she's also a determined person especially when it comes to solving cases. She knows where to look for clues just to complete the puzzle for Edogawa-kun to solve it," Haibara suddenly commented.

And the others agreed to it.

"Still, I want to know Rin-san even more. I want to know her true personality so I'll know how to help her in some way."

"Ayumi-chan…"

Ryoma suddenly moved out of his bed but then he fell. The kids helped him sit back to the bed.

"Are you alright, Ryoma-niichan?" Mitsuhiko helped Genta and Conan carry Ryoma back to the bed.

The freshman only sighed. "I can't really move them."

"What do you think you're doing?" Conan could only asked him. "You knew the effect of the chemicals to your body and yet you're trying to move your feet. Are you that desperate?"

"It's okay if he tried to move them. It would be better if he could at least fight the effect of the chemicals in his body."

All of them looked at the one who spoke. It was Doctor Yanai who entered the room.

"Yanai-sensei…"

"We told him to help himself until we could be able to produce an antidote for his paralyzed legs. Be we got a situation at hand that could help you and the police solve the case."

"What did you say?" Conan asked.

The doctor sighed. "A presumed member of the Dark Rose Agency was found dead at an alley three blocks from here. It seemed that he was murdered there by beating him completely to death."

All of them were stunned.

"But Sensei, how did you know if that murdered person is a member of—" Conan asked but it was abruptly stopped by another voice.

"It's because of their unique symbol." The others looked at the one who spoke and it turned out to be Kourin. "Three black roses whose stems were intertwined."

"If I remember correctly, the one with an eye patch had that mark on his neck," Ryoma said.

"What?"

"Are you sure, Ryoma-niichan?"

He nodded and then he peered at Kourin who was staring at him, as well. Kourin handed a folder to Conan.

"This might help you. At least let Ryoma-niichan see it." And with that, she left the room. Conan couldn't help but to get an explanation from Doctor Yanai.

"Just let her be… for now. After revealing so much to all of you about the enemy, I don't think she'll handle it lightly. But for now, I think you need to go to the crime scene." And the doctor left the room, along with Haibara.

Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta approached Conan. "Conan-kun, will Rin-san be alright?"

"What are we going to do now?"

Conan sighed and looked at the folder he's holding. "We need to know everything that's behind this case." And then he looked at the contents of the papers inside the folder. Only to get shocked to know the information inside. _This is…_ He browsed through it quickly but carefully. _All of these are information about the members of the Dark Rose. But how did Rin managed to have these?_

With that thought, he went towards Ryoma and let him see the pictures inside. "Ryoma-niichan, were these people the ones who chased you a week ago?" And he gave the folder to him.

Ryoma took the folder and browsed through it. And then he was stunned as his eyes widened. "Yes! These were the people who chased me."

_So they're really have a connection, after all!_Conan thought as he continued browsing through the contents of the folder. And then he looked at the picture frame on the bedside table… The same picture frame he was looking at just a while ago. And then a realization hit him. _** T**his picture… was surely taken a year ago. If that's the case, Rin must have been…_ He shook his head at a certain thought running in his mind. _But if it really happened, how am I supposed to know the truth behind it? Her connection to this case and to the Dark Rose… I need to know it! No matter what!_

And leaving the folder to Ryoma, Conan ran towards the door and left the room. The others followed him.

Ryoma looked at the folder once again. And Karupin jumped to his master's lap. The freshman sighed and looked outside the window, looking at the red color of the sunset through the horizons.

The cat meowed at him.

"Karupin…" He stroked the cat's fur and then he sighed. "I want to help them. But with my present condition right now, I don't think I'm capable of doing anything yet."

_Rin-chan… and those men who chased me… They are obviously connected but… how? And what do they want from me? _ He browsed the contents of the folder and as he peered on one of the files, he remembered something that his father said two weeks ago.

**_"There's a secret that's needed to be hidden no matter how much we wanted to unveil the truth behind it..."_**

_Does Dad knew something about this? And what the heck does he mean by that?_ And his thought plunged deeper into his mind.

* * *

_**New York City, New York…**_

In the 40th floor of a condo building in New York, Kudo Yuusaku and his wife Yukiko currently received a call from Professor Agasa. And after that, they quickly went to their rooms and get the necessary belongings that they need to go back to Japan.

"Yuusaku, are you sure about this?" Yukiko asked her husband while she also packed her things.

He nodded and then he faced his wife. "I know you're worried but I made a promise to Rina the day I saved her daughter… my niece."

"But you know the danger you'll be involved into if you helped them."

He sighed. "I know that. But this is the only thing I can do to help Rin-chan right now. I don't want her to suffer anymore."

"Yuusaku…" Yukiko sighed. "Does that mean Shin-chan…?"

"He has to know the truth now. We've kept it from him for a year and we can't keep it any longer. I know I'll be putting him in a grave danger when he will learn it but this is all I can do for now."

She hugged her husband to comfort him. She knew him for so many years and she knew that he's also worried about what's happening to his niece Rin… and to their son Shinichi.

"We shouldn't waste any more time. We need to go back to Japan as soon as we can."

And they hurried packing their things. But while doing that, he couldn't help remembering a tragic night that happened a year ago… in Miami, Florida.

_Rina, no matter what happens, I'll protect Rin-chan. She had suffered more than enough when she lost you and Ryuuki. It's about time that they faced the truth about the dangers lurking around them. I couldn't afford to lose anyone anymore because of this case._

* * *

**a… **_The five tall men mentioned here appeared in the Prologue (Escaping The Hands Of Death), in which they were assigned to take Ryoma to the Agency alive in order to lure someone out. Coius was the man with the mustache and a long scar on the left side of his face. Crius was the man with a big X-shaped scar on his face. Iapetus was the man with an eye patch on his left eye, while Hyperion was the man with a long black hair and lastly, Poseidon was the man with a black face mask and the one who happened to be the tallest among the five at the height of almost seven feet. The names mentioned here are just code names. Their real names will be revealed later on as the story continues._

**b… **_Zeus was the boss/leader of the Dark Rose Agency. His real identity might remain hidden until the end of the story but it is said that he was the son of the founder of the Dark Rose Agency. And he was an American._

* * *

**I know that you find it weird for me using names from Greek mythology as code names but I really like it. I hope you don't mind that much.**

**Coming next… Chapter 7 – Behind Rin's Determination**


	8. A Message To Be Deciphered

**To be honest, I was surprised to see that there are still a lot of people who liked this story. As for the grammar mistakes, I'm terribly sorry for that. For now, I could give you two reasons why something like this happened. First reason: English is actually my second language so bear with me if there are a lot of mistakes here. It's not actually easy writing in a language you're having a hard time dealing with (at least on my part). Second reason, this was my first attempt to actually complete a story written in ENGLISH. If I'm not mistaken, this was written after I posted my Gakuen Alice fan fiction or maybe this was my first story ever posted here. Anyway, I'll try to fix the grammar of the next chapters to be posted here. Thank you for at least having time to read my story.**

**By the way, before I forget, the chapter title "Behind Kourin's Determination" will be divided into three parts. I just thought I'd clarify.**

**Anyway, let's get on with the story!**

**CHAPTER 7 **

**A Message To Be Deciphered**

**(Behind Kourin's Determination Part 1)**

_**At an alley three blocks away from Professor Agasa's house…**_

The Detective Boys, minus Kourin and Haibara, went to the crime scene that Doctor Yanai was talking about. Using the doctor's car, they've arrived at the scene in less than 5 minutes.

Many people have already gathered there, looking at the situation there. Much to the kids' surprise, Ran and Sonoko were there.

Conan approached the two teenage girls who were watching the police as they checked the body of the victim.

"Ran-neechan, why are you here?"

"Conan-kun!" Ran could only say as she crouched down to look at him. "It's already past five in the afternoon. What are you doing here?"

"Yanai-sensei said there's a crime here so we went to check it out," Mitsuhiko said and glanced at the said doctor.

Doctor Yanai smiled when Ran looked at him. Sonoko approached the kids, frowning. She didn't seem to like the idea that these kids went there to see a crime so gruesome that the police couldn't even recognize the victim's face.

"Hey, you kids shouldn't even be here. Kids are not needed for this kind of situation. Besides, you're not going to like what you're going to see just in case," Sonoko said.

"What do you mean, Sonoko-neechan?" Genta asked curiously.

Sonoko seemed to almost wanting to vomit when Genta asked that, making the kids and the doctor wonder what exactly was going on. Conan peered at Ran who was seemed to be worried about Sonoko.

"Ran-neechan, what's going on with Sonoko-neechan?" he asked in a child-like tone.

"Yeah. It's like I said something disgusting earlier," Genta said as he glared at Sonoko who was a little far from them.

Ran sighed and stood up. "I think you should just look at this for you to know the reason why Sonoko acted like that." She led the puzzled kids and Doctor Yanai to the crime scene.

Thanks to Detective Chiba and Detective Takagi, the kids managed to get a look at the place. But they never expected to be in extreme shock to see the murdered victim.

Ayumi got scared, that was why she had to hold Conan's arm for support. "Conan-kun…"

Who would never get shocked when they saw the body of the victim, anyway?

The victim was a male, no doubt about that because of his big physique that was unique to a man. He had literally bathed in his own blood because of the bruises and the wounds he obtained when beaten. Due to the amount of wounds and blood that came gushing out from the man's body, it was quite impossible for one man to do this all alone, even if the culprit had a big stick or a metal baseball bat to do this.

The man's face was barely recognizable, like it was made to be a punching bag. But the first thing that caught Conan's eyes was the man's tattoo.

It was etched on the back of the man's right hand and it was still seen even though the victim's hand was covered in blood. Conan's eyes widened as he remembered something that Kourin said earlier before they went there.

"_It's because of their unique symbol. Three black roses where the stems were intertwined…"_

_It can't be! _Conan thought. _So Yanai-sensei was right. This man is a member of the Dark Rose. But why was he beaten to death? Was he a traitor to the group?_

"Conan-kun, look at his left hand," Mitsuhiko pointed at the victim's left hand. "He seems to be holding tight onto something."

Conan went near the body, as he was about to get the thing that Mitsuhiko was talking about, someone smacked his head. It was done by none other than Ran's father and the self-proclaimed "great detective" Mouri Kogoro.

"I told you not to interfere with my work, you brat!" Kogoro said angrily.

Conan could only cup his head with this hand. _I'm never going to help this old man again! Geez… that really hurts!_

When Kogoro grabbed the boy's shirt and carried him, Ayumi got angry that she had to stomp at Kogoro's feet so hard. She ran after doing that, dropping Conan in the process as he yelped in pain. The old man then chased her, followed by Genta.

For Ayumi, no one should hurt Conan in any way, even if it was a great detective.

_I have to thank Ayumi-chan later for that,_ the bespectacled boy thought, smiling mentally.

With Mitsuhiko as his watcher, he took the thing from the man's hand with a handkerchief in order for him not to contaminate the evidence. Though he had a hard time taking it out of the man's hand, he managed to do so. Then he looked at it.

_A crumpled paper? That's weird. Why someone who was beaten to death would still keep a crumpled paper?_

But then he noticed that even though the paper was covered in blood and crumpled, he could still see some black lines on it. It was like something was written on it.

He was about to open the crumpled paper when Detective Takagi approached them.

"Conan-kun, you shouldn't touch anything on the crime scene. It's no good for you kids anyway."

It was Mitsuhiko who answered. "We're really sorry, Detective Takagi. But you see, we're also investigating about a case happened a week ago and this man might have a connection to it."

This left Detective Takagi surprised. "What did you say?"

Conan didn't hear anything, though, as he was busy opening the crumpled paper covered in blood. But he was surprised to see what was written on it.

It consisted of four dots, letters of the English alphabet, the numbers 1 to 9 and other symbols.

_A coded message!_ But then he noticed something else written on the paper.

"Ares?" he frowned and looked at the dead man. _So his codename to the Dark Rose Agency is Ares. But what does he want to say with this coded message? It's quite complex and I guess I'll be having a hard time solving this._

It did look even hard even for Conan. Mitsuhiko and Detective Takagi looked at the coded message as well.

"It looks kind of long for a coded message," Mitsuhiko commented.

"More like a message was made before the murder," the officer said.

The coded message was written like this:

**.S8E3 D:I5**

**.Y9I7A5 A[I7O:I+S #H- D#L9I1 O+W #N* E+T /A E+**

**.4A#D #M 4E-NW *H S#DH /AT6**

**.R*I:U] IR8MS #H- D:A 2I9U- G:IIR8S #H- EA/**

_(left arrow)_**RB**

**ARES**

"If it was made before the murder, it seems that he knew he would be killed. For him to make such a complex message, it must be pretty important and he wanted someone to decipher it," Conan commented as he kept on thinking what could be the answer to the coded message.

"So that means this would amount to a dying message?"

The boy nodded. "It seems that way." Then he began to copy the coded message as it was written, including the name and the arrow.

When he was done copying it, the police exclaimed that they had found another crumpled paper. But this time, it was found inside the dead man's mouth. It was covered in a plastic so it was safe.

Inspector Megure opened it only to be surprised to see letters, numbers and other symbols written to it. But it was written in another way.

"What the heck does he want to do with this code?" Inspector Megure could only asked to himself.

Detective Takagi approached the inspector. "Keibu, the kids also found a crumpled paper held tight by the victim."

"What did you say?"

Conan handed the crumpled paper covered in blood to Inspector Megure in a condition that the inspector would let him see the other paper.

The code on the other paper was written like this:

**]J|1K|2P|3Z|4D|5F|6I|7M|8U|9L|*O|Y|W|A|+H|/S|:N|-T|#E|[Y**

He copied the same code on his notebook as it was so that he wouldn't mess up the order of the code.

_This is one complex case,_ Conan thought. _Ares… If he was really a member of the Dark Rose Agency, what is the motive for his murder? And he even managed to create a coded message for someone to read. Is it something really important and he didn't want his murderer to know?_

But then, he sighed as he closed his notebook and placed it in his pocket. By that time, Ayumi and Genta arrived.

"Conan, did you get anything?" Genta asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"We only managed to get two crumpled papers in his possession with codes written on it. But it's confirmed that the victim was a member of the Dark Rose Agency, using the codename 'Ares'."

Ayumi approached him. "Ne, Conan-kun… do you think we should let Rin-san know about this murder?"

"I don't think you should because she had already found out his death. But for the codes, it's best if you keep it a secret from her for a while," Doctor Yanai said as he looked at the victim.

"But why is that, Yanai-sensei?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Rin-chan's mind is kind of mixed up somehow because of our current case. You'll know the truth soon. Right now, it would be better if you solve the codes when you can."

The kids somehow understood what the doctor said.

With that, they headed back to the professor's house. They would just get other information about this murder case from Inspector Megure and Detective Takagi.

* * *

**I have to end the first part right here. Please review… even though it's still a crossover and only a few people (or maybe not) visits the crossover section.**

**I'm begging you… ^_^**


	9. A Tragic Night From A Year Ago

**CHAPTER 8**

**A Tragic Night From A Year Ago ****(Behind Kourin's Determination Part 2)**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_**The next day, at the Professor's house, 4:30 in the morning…**_

Kourin woke up early because she still needed to finish researching that could give some help for her project. But this wasn't just about her project.

She obtained the compiled information about the members of the Dark Rose Agency when it was sent to her thru e-mail by the family butler of the Shinomiya mansion. She called yesterday to her house and asked the butler to open the database of the Miyuzaki for him to retrieve the required file.

Since the butler was also a member of the Miyuzaki clan, he had an access to the database.

She printed the file and handed it over to Conan. More than anyone, she trusted him as how she trusted the Miyuzakis. She knew that Conan could solve the case.

She went down to the kitchen but she was surprised to see people in the living room. And she was even more surprised to see the guests talking to the professor.

"Oji-sama! Obaa-sama! Why are you here in Japan?" Rina exclaimed when she saw Yuusaku and Yukiko, both were smiling at her when she approached them.

"Surprised?" Yukiko said.

Kourin nodded. "When did you arrive?"

"Thirty minutes ago. We're here because Agasa-hakase gave us a call about your current case. We wanted to know what's going on right now," Yuusaku explained.

"I-is that so?" She spaced out for a while but she returned to when she heard Conan entered the house that made the others glance at him and Conan surprised when he saw the professor's guests.

"Mom! Dad!"

"Shin-chan!" Yukiko approached her son and hugged him.

When his mother let him go, he stared at her. "What are you doing here? I thought you're doing some busineses in New York."

"If it wasn't for Agasa-hakase, we wouldn't know that your cousin is already facing a danger," his father said.

"And he even said that a middle school student is involved in it, as well. We want to know who he is and why are they chasing after him," Yukiko added.

Conan sighed and sat on the couch. "As much as I want to know the answer to that question myself, Echizen-kun couldn't provide anything for that. He doesn't have any idea why those men were chasing him."

"But you said that you found a coded message on a murder related to this case," Professor Agasa said.

Kourin frowned. "What coded message?"

He decided to forget what Doctor Yanai had said regarding his warning not to tell Kourin about the coded message. "There's a coded message left by the man who was found dead at an alley three blocks from here. It was written in two pieces of paper that he inserted one inside his mouth and he held on tight onto the other. It was written by someone codenamed "Are". The message was quite complex, though. That's why I'll be having a hard time decoding it."

_Ares? The one who betrayed the Miyuzaki clan five years ago? _Yuusaku asked to himself. _Why was he found dead? I know that he's a martial arts expert just like Ryuuki and Shouko. But how did he end up dead?_

"Ares? The one whose symbol was found on the back—"

"The back of his right hand," Conan finished. "Yeah, it's him. Can you identify his true name?"

"Well, I guess it's on the folder I left to you yesterday," Kourin said.

And then he remembered something. "I left it to Echizen-kun when I went to the crime scene. I think he still has it."

The girl sighed. "Fine, I'll get it. But you have to show me that coded message later." Conan nodded and then she headed upstairs where Ryoma's room was located.

When the boy assured that she was gone, he faced his parents who were staring at the direction that Kourin went.

"But seriously, why are you here? You should've stayed in New York where it's safer."

Yukiko sighed and stared intently at Conan. "Shin-chan, I think it's about time for you to know the truth."

Conan frowned. "Huh? What are you trying to say, Mom?"

"Shinichi, it's about time for you to know the real reason why I brought your cousin here in Japan," Yuusaku said that made his son bewildered, but arouse his curiosity at the same time.

Conan began to listen to his father's story. After all, this wasn't just a simple story.

This could be the vital clue that he had been looking for ever since this case began.

But unknown to them, they were some people who was also listening to that story, as well.

One of them was Haibara, who was about to go out of her room when she heard Shinichi's father talking to his son. And the other one, Kourin.

The girl stopped walking towards Ryoma's room when she heard the question that Conan asked. Unknown to the people down the living room, she had placed a listening device that she created under the couch.

_Oji-sama, you should know the consequences once Shin-nii learns the truth about me. I don't want to have him involved in any more danger. He's already facing his own predicament ever since he's been shrunk by the drug of the Black Organization. This is just about me and my family._

Kourin sighed and then she continued walking towards Ryoma's room, still listening to her uncle's story as she remembered the tragic night that changed his life forever…

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**_One year ago_**

**_Shinomiya mansion; Miami, Florida_**

_The moon was in full shape. The mansion was filled with so many colorful lights since it was a grand celebration for the family that lived there._

_The flowers planted on the garden were in full bloom. The trees were in their perfect green color as the leaves shone while the light of the moon bounced to it, creating a magical sparkle that everyone would have adored._

_Yes… it would have been a perfect place for a celebration. But not for a battlefield turned into a graveyard._

_That night would have been another wonderful night for the eight-year-old princess of the clan named Shinomiya Kourin, the youngest child and the only daughter of the current clan leader, Shinomiya Ryuuki and his lovely wife, Rina._

_That celebration was a welcome party and a victory party for the eldest child of Ryuuki and Kourin's older brother, Hitoshi who had won in the US Open._

_It would have been a night of fun and enjoyment for the whole family and the guests who attended the celebration. Even some of the Miyuzaki clan members who were assigned to protect and guard the family were there, too._

_But that night was turned to a gruesome battle because of a secret well-hidden by the Shinomiya family for more than five centuries since the founding of the clan. A secret that their enemies desperately wanted to have no matter what it takes._

_As the celebration was going on, everyone heard continuous gunshots outside the mansion, probably using a machine gun. Some even heard slashing and painful moaning, which became an evidence that the enemies were attacking in all corners, using every method possible. They knew that they chose to use both the ancient art of fighting (swords and martial arts) and modern style of fighting (with the help of modern weaponry)._

_And then the door was busted open using a powerful bomb._

_Kourin hid behind her mother. That was the time Yuusaku and Yukiko, who happened to be at the celebration as well, approached the frightened young girl._

_"__Rina, we'll take Rin-chan somewhere safe. I'm having a bad feeling about this," Yuusaku said to his sister._

_"__Mama…" Kourin could only say with fear in her eyes as she was looking at her mother._

_"Don't worry, Mama. I'll go with her," her older brother Hitoshi offered and Rina nodded once at the sight of her son's determination to protect the princess._

_"Make sure you do what it takes to protect her, Hitoshi. You know that she's our only hope if we…" But Rina couldn't continue her sentence. Hitoshi knew what it meant, however._

_"I'll do what it takes to protect her. I'll risk my life on the line if I have to."_

_"You don't have to go that far."_

_By then, a girl with sea green bobcut hair that was about Hitoshi's age approached the family. "I'll go with them as well, Rina-sama. I'll protect the princess for you."_

_"Be careful, Hotaru-chan. I know your abilities as a fighter but I don't want you to end up dead because of your duty. You must take care of yourself."_

_"I will, Rina-sama. I promise."_

_Rina nodded and kissed her daughter's head. Then she faced her son, Hotaru, her brother and her sister-in-law. "Alright. You should hide in the basement using the hidden door. Onii-chan, Onee-chan, Hitoshi, Hotaru-chan, make sure my daughter's safe. If anything goes wrong, you must find a way to escape this place."_

_They all nodded and smiled. And then Yuusaku carried the little girl and headed to the hidden door Rina was talking about along with Yukiko._

_But before they could make it to the hidden door, Kourin saw the faces of their attackers as they killed the members of both the Miyuzaki clan and the Shinomiya clan using katanas and guns._

_"__Mama! Papa! Everyone!" she shouted out but it seemed that they didn't hear her as the aforementioned people were fighting the invaders._

_That was the time Yuusaku opened the door and the three of them entered. The door automatically closed. The sound of the machine guns was still heard in that little basement. _

_The little girl whimpered because of what she had just seen._

_Yukiko hugged the girl to calm her down. "Everything will be over soon, I promise."_

_Continuous firing of guns seemed to have been the signal that Hitoshi needed in order for him to know that it was already getting worse._

_"Obaa-sama, Ojii-sama, we have to get out of here. This is getting a little out of hand and we need to protect Rin at all cost."_

_"But Hitoshi-kun—" Hotaru's words were interrupted by a familiar voice that seemed to be letting out a groan of pain. The girl clamped her mouth in shock. "It can't be… Papa! Papa!"_

_"We need to leave this place."_

_Seeing the fact that there was no other way, they left the basement using another door connected to the basement. Upon opening it, a strong gust of wind greeted them. The night scenery somehow calmed them for a bit but it wasn't enough. They had to get out of that place and take themselves somewhere to assure their safety. _

_But doing so seemed to have become a mistake to all of them, especially now that a member of the organization was trying to catch up with them and eventually managed to catch up with them. In the process, the man grabbed Hotaru by her wrist tight and aimed a katana at her neck._

_"Hotaru!"_

_"Hotaru-san!"_

_Struggling to release herself from the enemy's grip, Hotaru opened her eyes even though she felt like air was leaving her, making her unable to breathe properly. The man was strangling her, after all._

_"I'll be fine… Just go ahead and leave this place. You must protect the princess!" She winced when the pain from being slowly sliced in the neck by that man had slowly taken over her._

_Hitoshi was enraged at the sight. His grip on his own katana was starting to get tight and without words, he charged towards the man who was holding Hotaru. The blood on her neck was starting to flow at a steady rate, indicating that the wound was slowly turning deep. Kourin was horrified at the sight of Hotaru getting hurt like that just to protect them… _

_…to protect her._

_A swordfight ensued between Hitoshi and Hotaru's captor. The sea green-haired girl was already wounded but she managed to get up and proceeded to Kourin's direction._

_"Are you okay, Hotaru-san?" Kourin asked worriedly, still feeling scared at the sight of blood from Hotaru's wound on her neck. The girl answered with a nod._

_The princess then turned to see her brother's condition, only to feel surprised when a katana was already on the verge of hurting her from above. All she did was to close her eyes tight, followed by feeling her hand somehow being sliced deeply and fast which made her shout. But it was then muffled with an even louder scream of pain resonating around the area. That scream, however, belonged to Hitoshi. When she opened her eyes, she was horrified at the sight of Hitoshi covering his wound with his hand as he tried looking up to face her. He smiled despite the excruciating pain from the wound he received from their perpetrator. _

_"A-are you alright, Rin?" Hitoshi asked._

_But Kourin was astounded at the sight of her brother now hurt and bleeding profusely. She didn't know what to think or do. She just couldn't move. Besides that, she also couldn't feel the pain from her wounded right hand. She felt numb from all of this._

_"H-Hotaru… take them… out of here. Protect her… in my place… protect all of them… whatever it takes… Protect my best friend… as well…"_

_"B-but… Hitoshi-sama…"_

_"I'll let you... do my duty… for my sister… Don't fail me, Hotaru… please…" Hitoshi said while trying his best not to scream out because of too much pain he was feeling. His breathing started to become uneven and ragged, indicating that he might not last much longer. No matter how much he hated it, he knew he won't be able to protect his little sister now._

_A determined look was etched on Hotaru's face, knowing fully well the weight of the duty imposed on her at that point. And she also knew fully well what was going to happen now. "I promise… I'll protect her for you, Hitoshi-sama."_

_"Thank you… Hotaru… I… love you…" Then he faced Kourin. "Be careful… Chibihime (little princess)… Don't let them… get you… Protect your… destiny… as the leader… and as his bride, too… Promise me that… Okay? I'm sorry… if I will… leave you… now… I love you… Don't forget that…" With his last breath, he said those words that only made Hotaru sob and Kourin rushed to her brother's side._

_"Onii-sama! Onii-sama! Don't leave me, Onii-sama! I can't do it! I can't do what you're telling me! I can't fight like that. I can't fight like you… Onii-sama…" But no words came out of Hitoshi's lips even after that outburst from the princess. She just continued to cry hard and not being able to hold it any longer, she screamed in horror as she called out Hitoshi repeatedly._

_ "Let's go, Ojou-sama," Hotaru said as she carefully carried the princess who was still crying and shaking her head in denial. Apparently, Kourin was just too weak at that moment to even protest to leave her brother's side._

_They went to a safehouse near the mansion. It was Hotaru's suggestion since she had been gurading that place along with her father for a long time. She knew the knooks and crannies of the entire Shinomiya state. E__verything was silent outside. Dead silent, to be more precise._

_But they stayed there for half an hour more just to make sure, even though Kourin insisted that they should get help. With Hotaru making sure that it was okay to head back to the mansion, they used the tunnel in that safehouse linking to the mansion's basement. As careful as they could, they opened the entrance of that tunnel leading to the basement._

_When Yuusaku opened that hidden door, all of them couldn't believe what was laid in front of their eyes._

_The main hall where the celebration was held turned into a mass graveyard. Bodies… Dead bodies could be seen everywhere. At the stairs, at the dining tables, near the entrance… it was everywhere._

_Pools of blood covered almost all parts of the shiny floor. Sprays of destroyed the beauty of the walls and the curtains of that hall._

_And all of these were done in a single night._

_"__Mama? Papa?" Kourin could only say as she was too shocked because of this. She has too look for her parents to make sure they didn't suffer the same fate as her brother._

_Yuusaku immediately found the ones he was looking for and he approached it… FAST!_

_Ryuuki and Rina's bodies were laid near the stairs, just beneath the small fountain inside that house. Both of them have gunshots on their stomach and slashes on the other parts of their bodies. _

_Yuusaku, Yukiko, Hotaru and Kourin approached the said bodies of the young girl's family._

_"__Mama? Mama! Wake up! Don't leave me!" Kourin said firmly as she began to cry over the bodies of her family, not minding the chemical on her mother's dress that slowly burned her hand._

_Rina slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her daughter._

_"__Rin… I-I'm glad… you're safe…" she said slowly to her daughter as she moved her bloody hand to touch the girl's face._

_"__Mama… Don't leave me…"_

_Rina smiled as she ignored her child's cries. "I'm sorry… Just this once… I have to break my promise…" And then she faced her brother who was still in shock. "Onii-chan… please," she caught her breath. "…please take my daughter away from here. Take her to Japan… to where it's safer…" Rina began to cry. "Protect my daughter… in my family's place…"_

_"__Mama…" The girl cried even harder, ignoring the blood that has stained her white dress because of her mother's blood._

_Yuusaku held his sister's bloody hand. "Don't worry. I'll protect her… no matter what!"_

_Rina smiled as she cried and eyed her beloved daughter for the last time. "Rin… take care of yourself… okay? Be safe… and survive this… I love you, Rin… I'll always be with you… I promise." And with that, Rina closed her eyes._

_"__Mama! You can't leave me! Not you, too! Onii-sama already left me… not you and Papa, too. Please, Mama…" Kourin cried as she shouted and shook her mother's body. "You can't leave me like this!"_

_At that time, Shouko arrived along with her sister, Doctor Akira, and Doctor Yanai. They were shocked when they saw the dead bodies of the people in there._

_"__We're too late…" Shouko could only say as she covered her mouth._

_Despite the shock, Doctor Akira managed to approach the couple who was still staring at the dead bodies of Kourin's family._

_"__Yuusaku-sama, you should get out of here fast. You need to get out of this place as soon as you can before the enemies will come and kill you." And then she faced her sister. "Shouko, you lead them out. You can use my car."_

_Shouko nodded and then carried the little girl who was now in a state of shock. Yuusaku and Yukiko and even the wounded Hotaru followed._

_Kourin could only watch as she was being carried away from that house. She didn't know why but she felt numb; she couldn't move her body._

_That was the last time she ever got a glimpse of that house…_

_A house that has now become a graveyard…_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So the massacre that Akira-sensei mentioned to Echizen-kun yesterday… was about that night?" Conan asked, still in the state of disbelief.

Yuusaku nodded. And then the boy looked at Professor Agasa. "Hakase, you knew about this all along?"

"Forgive me, Shinichi. But it was your father's orders that I should keep it a secret from you until he could tell you the truth about Rin-kun."

Conan sighed. "Now I know why she became scared when Shouko-san mentioned about the Dark Rose."

"Shin-chan, are you okay?" Yukiko became worried at the sight of Conan's distraught face.

The boy nodded. "I'm just worried about Rin."

That was the time Kourin came running down the stairs with the folder on her hand. She handed it to Conan.

He browsed through it and he saw a file about the man codenamed 'Ares'.

"Ares, an alias of Daryll Corazza, 27 years old, American citizen," Conan read out loud about what was written on the file. And then he read the other parts silently but then he was surprised upon reading a certain part of the profile that he was reading. "He betrayed the Miyuzaki clan five years ago?" he exclaimed in surprise. He continued reading the profile.

_This can't be the reason why someone killed him. It's impossible for a member of the Miyuzaki clan to do this. The location of the Dark Rose Agency is still unknown to them and Shouko-san has to confirm it first._

"Shin-nii, can I see the coded message now?" Kourin asked innocently.

Conan smiled and handed the notebook where he wrote the coded message to Kourin. The girl thoroughly analyzed it once she saw it. Then she sighed.

"It sure is one complex message. To think he wrote it in a code." And she handed the notebook back to Conan. "All I can say, the arrow that was placed there probably indicated that the code had to be read backwards. That's what the RB should mean, I think."

_RB? Read backwards… left arrow… So this was written in English. And the dots indicate the periods placed at the end of each sentences._ Conan looked at the coded message. _But how should I decode it? _He sighed soon after when he couldn't find an answer and he closed the notebook.

"Mom, Dad, do you want to meet Echizen-kun?" Conan asked suddenly.

"Shin-nii…"

"I think it's alright since we managed to finish the antidote for Echizen-kun. Though it would only take effect after 16 hours."

The others glanced at the one who spoke.

"Ai-chan!"

Conan frowned. "But I thought it would take 2 days to make the antidote."

"Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei have gathered enough information for us to make it the shortest possible time. Besides, they've stayed here and completed it until past 3 in the morning."

Kourin smiled. "Then Ryoma-niichan can walk again?" Haibara nodded as she handed the tablet to her.

"Thank you, Ai-chan!"

Haibara smiled faintly. "You don't have to thank me. I've decided to help you with your project ever since you arrived here. And you saved me a lot of times, too. This is the least I could do for you."

Kourin looked at her wristwatch. "Five-forty. I think he's already awake. I could already hear Karupin."

So they went to Ryoma's room.


	10. The Tennis Prince's Resolve

**CHAPTER 9**

**The Tennis Prince's Resolve**

**(Behind Kourin's Determination Part 3)**

Ryoma sighed as he looked outside the glass ceiling. This was his second day that he woke up at Professor Agasa's house. And he still had to sleep there for another day until the antidote that Doctor Akira and Doctor Yanai that they were working on was finished.

Up until now, he couldn't sleep well because he was too worried about his family's situation.

It was a good thing that Kourin was there to ease down his fears and worries, especially at night when he was having a hard time sleeping because of nightmares about the incident a week ago. It was like the girl was treating as a member of a family even though she just met him when the incident happened.

Maybe because… she knew the fear that was in his heart because of those people chasing him.

He sighed again and he noticed that Karupin kept on meowing to him. The cat then jumped to his bed and sat on his lap.

"Karupin, stop meowing. You might disturb the others. It's still early," he said to the cat in a low voice but still, the cat continued to meow.

He looked around the room and that was the only time he noticed that Kourin wasn't there.

_She wakes up early for a nine-year-old,_ he thought. He decided to try moving his feet and walk. But before he could do that, he heard the door opened. It was Kourin, Conan and Haibara, along with a couple who entered.

He looked at those couple who entered along with the kids. They seem to be nice people as he saw them smile at him.

_I wonder who they are,_ he could only ask to himself as they approached him.

Though he wasn't really used to being taken care of and someone worries about him, with this kind of situation he was in, he should get used to it. After all, it was his life that was in real danger.

He nodded and smiled faintly. Then Kourin went near the couple and faced him.

"Ryoma-niichan, I want you to meet my uncle and aunt," she said as she glanced at the couple.

"Good morning," he could only say to them.

Yukiko went near Ryoma and sat on the bed. "How are you feeling now, Echizen-kun?"

He glanced at Rin and smiled at him. It was like assuring him that it was alright to answer the woman's question.

"I'm fine now, thanks to Rin-chan. If it wasn't for her and the others, I guess I wouldn't see myself alive. But my leg…"

"If you're still worried about that, Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei had already finished making the antidote for you," Haibara suddenly said.

Ryoma was surprised but he managed to smile. "They did?"

Haibara nodded. "But it would only take effect after 16 hours so you should be patient in waiting for the result."

"But Haibara, isn't there supposed to be a prototype to it? What if the result wouldn't be the ones that they've studied?" Conan suddenly asked.

The girl sighed. "Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei had gathered enough information within the one year span of time that they've studied it. Since they're the ones who had an insight about the bullets used, they have already tested the prototypes created before to some of the volunteers. So I'm sure that they know what they're doing." Then she looked at Kourin.

"I guess you're right about that," he said. "Anyway, I'll be going out for a while."

"Where are you going, Shin-chan?" Yukiko asked her son.

"I'll try to solve the coded message along with the police. They might have found clues that will help me solve it."

"What coded message?" Ryoma couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Conan looked at the freshman. "It's a message that the victim had left before he was beaten to death. Surely, this code will help us solve the case completely." Then he smiled. "So you should just take a rest there and try to heal yourself. Like what Akira-sensei said, 'you shouldn't always depend on science and medicine'. I'll solve this case for sure."

The others just looked at him. The determination Ryoma saw in Conan's eyes made him feel a little bit assured.

_He's right. I have to heal myself so I could walk again and go back home to know my parent's condition. I have to know the reason why those men chased me. And I have to ask Edogawa-kun about—_

His thoughts were disrupted when Yuusaku suddenly called his name.

"Echizen-kun, can we talk to you for a while?"

Though a little surprised, Ryoma nodded. Then Kourin and Haibara decided to leave the couple and the freshman to talk.

When the two girls went out of that room, the couple faced him and then they revealed to him the past that he needed to know in order for him to understand the situation he was into.

* * *

"You heard the story, didn't you?"

Haibara suddenly faced Kourin when the girl asked that question to her. Then unknowingly, she nodded in response to the question asked.

They were walking through the hallway after they went out of the room.

"I didn't mean to. It's just that…" Haibara couldn't continue her sentence.

"It's alright. I also realized that it's about time for you to know my story, as well. I kept it hidden from all of you for a long time and it's not really easy for me to do that. It's just that… I don't want you to be too involved with me because I couldn't bear to let you suffer because of me and my family's secret. You and Shin-nii are already facing your own predicament."

"Shinomiya-san…" Haibara could only say as she looked at Kourin. "By the way, what was the code that Kudou-kun was talking about a while back?"

Kourin sighed. "Ares left it in order for the Miyuzaki clan to decode."

"It wasn't intended for the police to know?"

"It isn't."

Haibara was more confused. "But hw did you know that?"

"I already solved the code after Shin-nii made me look into it and the guide. It's one of the unique coding system that the Miyuzaki clan had used for years now. And one more thing—Ares didn't really betray the clan five years ago."

The girl was surprised at Rin's revelation. "He never betrayed the Miyuzaki clan? I don't understand. How did that happen?"

Kourin smiled. "It was just a plan that Ares and the clan elders had come up with to let the Dark Rose Agency think that he hated the clan more than they do. And the spy of the agency that Shouko-san was talking about was none other than Ares himself. He was probably killed because the secondary leader of the agency might have found out about his secrets."

Both of them fell silent for a while. When they've reached the living room, Haibara asked her something.

"Why didn't you tell Kudou-kun about the answer to the code?"

"I want him to discover the truth on his own. And besides, he's one cocky guy so I'm sure he can do it. And…" she paused for a while. "I believe in him."

Haibara sighed and looked at Kourin. "Could you at least… tell me the answer to the coded message?"

"If you promise me not to tell Shin-nii about it."

Haibara smiled and then nodded.

She then revealed the trick in answering the code and the answer to the code itself to Haibara.

_I know he can slve it because I believe in him,_ Kourin thought and then smiled sadly in her mind. _Thank you so much, Daryll Corazza-san, for protecting my family up to this extent. And I'm sorry. I just wished I had known you even better…_

* * *

"I have to go back home."

Yuusaku and Yukiko went quiet when Ryoma suddenly said that. It was after the couple revealed Rin's past to him.

Yukiko looked at him with a worried face. "Are you sure about that, Echizen-kun?" The freshman nodded.

"I want to make sure that my family and my friends are doing fine. And… I want to know from my family about the real reason why the Dark Rose are after me and what do they want from me for them to chase me that night."

All the couple could do ws to look at the eyes of the determined freshman. After they had revealed too much to him, they knew that he would do anything to find out the truth behind this situation.

Yuusaku sighed. "If that's what you want, then… we're not going to stop you."

"But we'll escort you to you house. We also want to know from your parents about what's going on," Yukiko said while smiling, but obviously, it was said in a serious tone.

Ryoma smiled and then he nodded.


	11. The Answer To The Code

**CHAPTER 10**

**The Answer To The Code**

_**At the Yoshida residence (Ayumi's house)…**_

The Detective Boys, minus Haibara and Kourin (again), decided to stay at Ayumi's house. Conan went to the police station earlier. But then Detective Takagi and Detective Satou said that they didn't have any clue at all about how to solve the code. But they were really trying their best to solve it in order to close the case as early as they can.

In addition to this, Conan was having a weird feeling about Kourin. Usually, when it comes to cracking codes, Kourin was the one who was enthusiastic in solving it. That was why they've always solved some of the murder cases with codes the earliest possible time. But when he showed her the codes that Ares wrote, he didn't mind but then he saw her sighed. It was like she already had an idea on how to solve it… or she knew the answer to the code itself.

_But if that's the case, Rin should've mentioned it to me. She always does that whenever she had an idea on how to solve the codes. Unless… she wanted me to solve the code by myself._ And with that, he looked at the coded message for the eighth time already since he arrived at Ayumi's house.

"Conan-kun, aren't you getting tired of looking at that paper?" Genta asked in a tired manner.

"Yeah. You've been looking at it for how many times. Aren't you going to do something to solve it?" Even Mitsuhiko asked him in the same manner.

But it seemed that he didn't hear it. He was too focused on looking at the paper that he didn't even notice Ayumi handing him a piece of paper and a marker. If the girl hasn't pinched him on the cheeks hard, his attention wouldn't stop focusing on the paper.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. And then he rubbed his cheek that Ayumi pinched. "What was that for?"

"You're becoming too focused on the codes that you've forgotten about us," Ayumi said placidly. Then she gave the paper and the marker to Conan. "I couldn't find a pen so I thought the marker would do."

He smiled and everyone gathered to the table. Everyone gave out their ideas on how to solve it but it seemed that none of them worked.

It already took them two hours but they couldn't come up with an answer. Genta could only complain because he was hungry. Mitsuhiko tried to solve it in any ways that he knew how but it didn't help and Ayumi could only looked at Conan worriedly.

Conan, on the other hand, was becoming frustrated already because at this point, he couldn't think of a way to decipher the code.

_What the heck is this code? No, I can't figure it out. I know it's his last message but I couldn't figure out who or what does it pertains to._

Ayumi took one of the coded paper and looked at it.

"But you know, I think this isn't a message at all. If it is also a coded message, then it should have been written in the same way as the first one," she just said while looking at the paper.

Conan then suddenly glanced at Ayumi who was holding the paper. _It isn't a message at all? Then that means…_ He looked at the coded message on his notebook. Then it struck him when he took the paper to Ayumi. _Wait a minute… There are standing lines that separate the symbols and the letters. He only put the lines after a character and a letter. If that's the case, then this second codes are… guides! _He thought triumphantly as he took another paper and the marker placed on the table.

"Now I get it! Thank you so much, Ayumi-chan."

The three kids became confused with what Conan said but then, they just kept quiet and let him do the code-deciphering.

It took him about five minutes before he finished changing the characters and symbols into its corresponding letters. But then, the result wasn't exactly what they had expected it to be.

Though it was written in English alphabets, they still couldn't make a meaning out of it.

_How come? The letters are exactly placed where their corresponding symbols are. I even checked it thrice. Then why did it come out like this?_ Conan could only say in his mind frustratingly as he looked at the result.

"Conan-kun, are you sure this is the right code that Ares wrote?" Mitsuhiko asked, he was also frustrated but it wasn't obvious.

Conan nodded. "I copied the exact code right down to the punctuation marks used. I never did any changes or arrangements to it."

"Then why is it that we couldn't even make any meaning or word out of it?" Genta asked, now standing and opening the window just behind him. "Now I'm even hungrier than I was a minute ago."

"You are always hungry, Genta-kun. And stop complaining about you being hungry. We are solving a case that would help Ryoma-niichan and Rin-san," Ayumi suddenly blurted out that made the three boys quiet.

Genta lowered his head and apologized. "I'm sorry."

And then all of a sudden, a gust of wind entered the house and blew the paper with the result of the code from the table. The paper landed half a foot below a standing mirror placed near the bedroom.

Mitsuhiko and Genta closed the window and Ayumi picked up the scattered papers on the floor. Conan immediately looked for the paper with the result of the code.

When he was about to get the paper that he was looking, he noticed the reflection of the paper on the standing mirror. As Conan was looking at the reflection carefully, he suddenly remembered what Kourin said about the code just this morning when she took a good look at it.

"_All I can say, the arrow that was placed there probably indicated that the code had to be read backwards. That's what the RB should mean, I think…"_ And then he picked up the paper and raised it facing the mirror. He now saw what his cousin meant about the code. _Now I know what you mean, Rin!_

Conan rushed to the table and took another piece of paper and the marker.

"Conan-kun, what's wrong?"

"Have you figured out the code?"

He didn't answer but he continued to rewrite the code in the same order as what he saw in front of the mirror a while ago. All the letters were placed in a right order, even the punctuation marks used.

And when he was finished, he began to read it only to get surprised to see the outcome of the code.

The answer was written like this:

**FIND ZEUS.**

**HE WAS THE ONE WHO KILLED THE SHINOMIYA FAMILY.**

**IT WAS HADES WHO WANTED ME DEAD.**

**SAVE THE SURVIVING TULIP AND THE SAMURAI JUNIOR.**

_Surviving tulip? Samurai Junior? _Conan could only ask to himself since he wasn't sure what Ares was talking about with his code.

"Is this another code for us?" Mitsuhiko asked disappointed.

He shook his head. All of a sudden, he remembered something that his father said a while ago while telling him about Kourin's past.

"_This is the only way we know so we could protect the last surviving tulip. I'm sorry is we kept it a secret even from you…"_

Conan couldn't help but feel sad for Kourin. His cousin really had been through a lot. And his parents knew how hard it was for her to keep it.

"Conan-kun, what does the code mean by 'surviving tulip' and 'Samurai Junior'?" Ayumi inquired as she also looked at the answer to the coded message.

"Is it some sort of symbol?

"Nope." And then Conan placed the paper on the table and looked at the three kids. "It is the nicknames of the two people that they are currently targeting and it's already somebody we already know."

"I don't get it at all," Genta said. "And who is this 'Zeus' and 'Hades', anyway?"

"Zeus and Hades are two of the members of the Dark Rose Agency. Zeus is the leader and Hades is his right hand man and at the same time is the secondary leader. But that's according to their profiles I've read when I was at Hakase's house a while ago."

"But what does the code mean by 'surviving tulip' and 'Samurai Junior'?" Ayumi confusingly asked. "If it is really the nicknames of somebody we knew, then—"

"It was talking about Rin and Ryoma-niichan," Conan said. "The 'surviving tulip' mentioned was actually referring to Rin since the flower emblem of the Shinomiya family happened to be the purple tulip-the flower which means royalty. It also meant nobility, strength, passion and love. And Ryoma-niichan was nicknamed 'Samurai Junior' because of his skills in tennis that nearly matched his father who was once called 'Samurai Nanjiroh' when he was still a professional tennis player."

"Is that so?" Ayumi could only say.

Mitsuhiko and Genta then looked at the paper with the answer to the code.

"Then the reason why Rin-san was always sad…"

"…was because her family was killed a year ago. Is that it, Conan-kun?" Mitsuhiko finished Genta's sentence.

Conan sadly nodded. Then he folded the paper and put it in his pocket. After that, his cellphone rang.

The call was from Professor Agasa.

"Hakase, what's wrong?"

"Shinichi, have you already solved the code?" the professor asked.

"Well, we're just finished decoding it. But why are you asking this, hakase? I could've given you the answer since we'll be going there right now."

"Your parents wanted to see you right now. Ryoma-kun decided that he has to go back home when the antidote had taken effect. They though that you might still have some questions about this case, so they wanted to know if you want to come along with him."

He went silent for a moment. Then he subconsciously touched his pocket where the answer to the code was placed.

"Conan-kun, what's wrong?" Mitsuhiko asked worriedly.

_Rin have gone this far to protect Echizen-kun from the same danger she's dealing with. And I will go even further to help her live a normal life like she has been before the tragedy took everything away from her. I'm not going to stop now!_

He sighed and then said, "I'll go with him. I know Kourin would want me to do that. She was protecting Echizen-kun ever since she found him; that's why I have to do the same thing. In a way, I know he became so special to her that she would do everything she can to end this."

"Shinichi…" Professor Agasa muttered. And then Conan heard him sigh. "Alright then. You have to come here now. Ryoma-kun had already taken in the antidote three minutes ago. We just have to wait for sixteen hours for it to take effect."

"Okay, I will." Conan turned off his cellphone and placed it in his pocket.

He faced the three kids. "We need to go to hakase's house right now. Ryoma-niichan might need our help in some way."

The kids nodded and followed Conan.

* * *

_**Thank God I've managed to post this one. I haven't faced the computer for two weeks, so I wasn't able to update anything for a while. Sorry for that. It's just that I don't have any computer at home so I still have to borrow for me to post this one.**_

_**Please leave a review about this. It will be much appreciated.**_


	12. All About The Truth And The Past

**CHAPTER 11**

**All About The Truth And The Past**

_**At the Echizen residence…**_

Nanako opened the door of the bedroom she was using to check out on someone. She smiled when she saw a woman still sleeping on her bed. Then she switched on the lights and went in, closing the door afterward.

She sat on the bed where the woman slept and then she sighed.

She couldn't believe it. She never thought her partner was facing danger.

Yes… The woman sleeping in her bed was her partner in research, Shouko—the woman she entrusted on the project they were working on. But some things unexpectedly happened and somehow, it was beyond her control.

She still remembered the day she saw the wounded Shouko outside the gate of the temple where the Echizen family resided. But honestly, it only happened yesterday…

_It has been another tiring day looking for Ryoma but Nanako didn't actually mind about it. Right now, all she has to worry about was to help her uncle and aunt in finding Ryoma. Even though that kid said not to worry about him, she still has to do something to ease up the couple's loneliness and worries._

_It was a good thing that her college partner, Shouko Akira, agreed to work alone on the research that they've been working for quite some time now. At the very least, she was glad that Shouko understood her and the situation that they were facing._

_She was walking on the way back home when she noticed the clouds. They've been gathering to become thick and black, indicating that a heavy rainfall would surely come. That was why she needed to hurry up._

_When she arrived at the gate of the temple, she stopped when she saw someone lying in front of it. It was a woman, to be exact._

_Even though she was feeling a little scared, she approached the wounded and unconscious woman and tried to wake her up but to no avail. When she turned the body to have a better look at the woman, she was definitely surprised when she found out who it was._

"_Shouko-san, are you okay? Wake up! Speak to me!" Nanako called out as she tried to wake Shouko up._

_Shouko, who was actually feeling even weaker as seconds passed by, tried to open her eyes. And as she looked at Nanako, she gave a weak smile._

"_What happened to you, Shouko-san? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be going to Hokkaido today?" Nanako has a lot of questions to ask to her partner but it seemed that Shouko wouldn't be able to answer her right now._

_Shouko tried to look at her. "Nanako-chan… help m-me…" she murmured before she completely lost consciousness._

_At that moment, she tried her best to carry Shouko inside the house. She might have a lot of questions to her partner (and of course, her precious friend), but that didn't matter for now. She has to save her._

_Besides, she would be able to know everything once Shouko was all right._

_With the help of Rinko and Nanjiroh, they've managed to get her into the house, to Nanako's bedroom…_

Nanako sighed as she looked at Shouko and checked on her temperature. Shouko was having a fever last night that was why she stayed up late to take care of her. She just calmed down when she made sure that her temperature had gone down to normal.

She then saw Shouko opened her eyes. She smiled at her. "How are you feeling now, Shouko-san?"

"I'm feeling dizzy but all in all, I'm alright. Thank you for helping me, Nanako-chan."

She stood up and drew away the curtains. And then she opened the window to let some air in.

She went back to sit on the bed. "Now care to tell me what happened. You're supposed to be going to Hokkaido yesterday to finish our research but then—"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you down with this." Shouko looked at the ceiling.

Nanako was puzzled with what her friend said. "I-I don't understand…"

"I know you wouldn't but I'll explain it as clearly as I can." And then she looked at her. "I was supposed to go to Hokkaido because of two reasons. One, to finish our research and two, to confirm something. You see, there's something I've been hiding from you all this time. And I don't want to drag you into the mess that my life has since even before I met you."

"What do you mean? And how exactly—" She couldn't continue asking her question when both Nanjiroh and Rinko entered that room.

Shouko smiled apologetically. "Sorry about the trouble I caused you."

Rinko smiled. "Don't mind it. You've been helping Nanako-chan many times. I guess it's just the time to return the favor."

Shouko just smiled and then tried to get up so that she could sit. Nanako helped her do so.

"So what exactly happened to you? You're wounded when we found you by the gate. And it seemed that you have some grazes and a through-and-through wound from gunshots. Is someone chasing you?" Nanjiroh then asked Shouko.

She didn't answer, and so her friend looked at her worriedly. And then she faced the man who was still waiting for her answer.

She sighed. "I was actually trying to get away from my perpetrators yesterday. A chase happened inside the train. That woman really wanted me to tell her the location of the Shinomiya princess that's currently under the guidance and protection of my clan. I jumped off the train but she kept on shooting until I fall down the river. After I got out of there, I don't know where to go so I decided to see you and get help from you. I didn't want to drag all of you in this but right now, you're the only people who can help me."

They all fell silent after that. Shouko felt that Nanjiroh was looking at her seriously.

"And… I wanted to ask Nanjiroh-san about one important thing," Shouko suddenly whispered but Nanako heard it.

"A-about what, Shouko-san?" Rinko asked.

It took her a moment to gather up her courage to speak and ask him a question.

"How exactly… are you connected to the Shinomiya family?"

His eyes widened when he heard the question. His wife looked at him as they waited for his answer. He then sighed and afterward, cleared his throat. Then he looked at Shouko with blank expression.

"Shinomiya Ryuuki happened to be my best friend even before my days as a professional tennis player. But why are you asking me this?"

But before Shouko could answer his question, her cell phone that was placed on the table suddenly rang. Nanako stood up and took it, and then she gave it to her. She was a bit surprised to see her sister's name displayed on the screen as her caller. She heaved a sigh before she answered the call.

"Onee-chan, what's up? Is there a problem?" she calmly asked.

"Shouko, where are you right now?"

"Well—" she glanced at her friend. "—I'm here at my friend's house. I never made to Hokkaido for… reasons that you already know."

She heard her sister sigh. "So that wicked witch really went after you, huh? And it seemed to me that the news about Ares hasn't reached your ears yet."

She frowned. "What do you mean, Onee-chan? What happened to Ares?"

"He was beaten to death but he left a code. Conan-kun and the others are solving it but Shin photocopied the original one written by Ares. And he said in it that Hades was the one who wanted him dead."

"So he was found out, huh?" And then she went silent before she looked at Nanjiroh. "Anything else he said in that code?"

"Yes. He also said in it that we have to save the surviving tulip and the Samurai Junior. I know that he was referring to Rin-chan when he said 'surviving tulip' but about the 'Samurai Junior', well—"

"He was referring to Nanjiroh-san's only child, Ryoma Echizen. But how does Echizen-kun became involved in this?"

"Rin-chan saved him from near death a week ago. Echizen-kun was actually being chased by the Dark Rose the night of the storm."

"What?" she surprisingly asked. "So Echizen-kun is in the care of Rin-chan?"

"That's right. But he still has to regain his walking capability after we gave him the antidote in 16 more hours. He was shot by the infamous bullet of the enemy. By the way, did Ares tell you about the person said to be still connected to the Shinomiya family?"

"Yeah, he did. Yesterday, three hours before Themis chased me at the train. Anyway, I have to end the call for now. I still need to ask that person about his connection to the family and I'll be giving you the result after that."

"Okay then. Just be careful and stay safe." With that, the call was cut.

Shouko sighed and then she placed her phone beside her.

"What about my son being involved in something?" Nanjiroh suddenly asked.

"It was probably your tight connection to the Shinomiya family. That might have been the reason why the Dark Rose Agency chased him the night of the storm."

"So he was really involved in your previous predicament, Nanjiroh…" She heard Rinko murmured it.

She looked at her friend then to Nanjiroh. "Nanjiroh-san… Is there something important with your connection to the Shinomiya family that made them go after your son?"

"Like what I told you a while ago, Ryuuki was and still is my best friend even after both of us quit being a professional tennis player almost at the same time. We haven't talked for more than three years now but there is no doubt that he's still my best friend," Nanjiroh explained.

Shouko could easily tell that he was telling the truth. But that wasn't exactly what she wanted to know. "But it seemed to me that being friends with Ryuuki-sama wasn't the only reason why your son was saved by a friend of mine from near death a week ago. You seem to know something that they need to find out no matter what."

"They?" Nanako innocently asked.

"The Dark Rose Agency."

She saw Nanjiroh heaved a heavy sigh and took a seat as if those words would take away his strength. This made her even more curious and motivated to know what was really going on.

"Nanjiroh-san…" she could only say.

He shook his head. "I can't believe they would still go after it." After a moment of silence, he looked at her. "I lied to them 16 years ago… when the Dark Rose captured me. That time, even though Ryuuki was already my friend, he never told me anything about the secret that his family has been protecting for a long time."

Shouko was definitely shocked. "So you were entrusted with the Shinomiya family's secret?"

"After Ryuuki saved me from those goons." He sighed again. "But even though I didn't have any idea about that hidden secret at that time, I wanted to protect my friend more than myself. That's why I told them that a certain old man was the one who knew that secret, even though that person doesn't even exists."

Shouko couldn't help but to burst out a soft laugh because of what she heard from Nanjiroh. He, Nanako and Rinko looked at her confusingly.

"I never thought those villains would actually chase a person that doesn't even exist." And then she looked at them seriously. "But I don't understand why they would go after your son, Ryoma-kun. He doesn't even have any clue about what happened to you 16 years ago."

"I might have unconsciously let them believe that my son knows that non-existing old man and he was even close to Ryoma. I thought it's already over."

None of them could say anything. But Shouko began to carefully analyze the situation.

_There is a huge possibility that the Dark Rose might have found out the truth about Nanjiroh-san's lie 16 years ago. To think they would go after Echizen-kun a week ago… I never thought that it's not only the Miyuzaki clan who was entrusted with the Shinomiya family's treasured secret._

But before she could conclude even more, Nanjiroh asked her a question.

"Do you have any idea what happened to Ryuuki? It seems to me that you know where he is."

She became hesitant if she was going to tell him the truth. But perhaps it would be best if she told him everything since he was the one being trusted by the Shinomiya family and at the same time, the best friend of the murdered head of the family, Shinomiya Ryuuki.

She sighed before continuing to speak. "Whatever you find out right now, please do not show that you've been completely affected. Ryuuki-sama wouldn't want you like that."

"What do you mean?" he asked sternly.

It took her a moment before she said it. "The truth it—" she paused. "—Ryuuki-sama was murdered a year ago, along with his wife, Rina-sama and his son Hitoshi-sama."

She saw his shocked expression, even those of Rinko's and Nanako's. She should've expected it but still, it pained her to see it.

"But how… and why?" Nanjiroh could only ask. She could feel that he was feeling lifeless.

He wouldn't move; nevertheless, she could feel his shock and disbelief that he was feeling at that moment.

She told them everything that a witness of the massacre told her a year ago, even the ones experienced by the parents of Kudo Shinichi as it was told to her. In a way, she also told Nanako about her true identity and even her role to the Shinomiya family.

None of them could speak a word after that. It took them a while to let everything they've heard sink into their minds.

"So all of Ryuuki's family… died that night?" Nanjiroh asked in a soft tone, after everything that she told have finally registered to his mind.

She shook her head and intently looked at him. "Not exactly all of them. There is one who was saved that night because that's what Rina-sama had asked her brother to do."

"Who was that person?" Rinko asked eagerly.

"It was their youngest child who happened to be their only daughter 5 years younger that Hitoshi-sama. Her name is Shinomiya Kourin. Rin-chan was the one who saved your son from near death a week ago, according to my sister. It would appear that he was shot by the Dark Rose's infamous bullet the night they chased him," she stated. "For now, you don't have to worry about Echizen-kun. I know that he's in safe hands."

"I hope so…"

* * *

_**At the Professor's house, Kourin's room…**_

Thirteen hours has passed. They still needed to wait for 3 more hours to know if Ryoma could be able to walk again. But Kourin felt sure, somehow. For she knew that the two doctors and Haibara could really help the freshman regain his ability to walk again because she believed in them.

He was asleep now. At least this way, he wouldn't be feeling a little hasty after deciding to go home and ask his family about what they know with regards to the case.

But she was the one who couldn't sleep now. She was bothered by a thought and yet, she was still fighting it because she promised to Ryoma that she wouldn't let the Seigaku regulars—more particularly Fuji and Momoshiro—know that he was in danger. But she also promised to those two that she would call them if ever she finds out something about Ryoma's whereabouts that, in reality, she knew all along.

In either way, one promise would be broken and the other would be fulfilled. And she only has to chose one.

She looked at the sleeping Ryoma and Karupin. She smiled at the sight of his face sleeping peacefully. Wherever she put it, Ryoma really did have a strong resemblance to her brother Hitoshi. If ever her brother was still alive and he would play together with Ryoma in one place, one would conclude that they were twins.

As she continued to look at them, she finally came up with a decision. She sadly eyed the sleeping freshman.

_I'm sorry, Ryoma-niichan. But I guess I have to break my promise to you. Even though I couldn't afford to put them in danger because of what's happening to you right now, I need to let them know you're safe. You're their friend, after all. And… I need all the help that I could get._

With that, she finally slept…

…determined to seek Fuji and Momoshiro and talk to them personally about Ryoma's situation by tomorrow, right after Ryoma and Conan left to go to the Echizen residence.

She just hoped that nothing bad would happen once she go to Seishun Gakuen to talk to Fuji and Momoshiro.

Unbeknownst to her, something would.


	13. Seigaku Regulars Are In Danger

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own Shinomiya Kourin and the other OC's in this story.**

**Warning: Characters might not be in their usua selves. In other words, possible OOC**

-x-x-

**Chapter 12: Seigaku Regulars Are In Danger**

_**The next day, at the Echizen residence…**_

Ryoma, along with Conan, Kudou Yuusaku and Yukiko, arrived at the Echizen residence as the freshman wanted to. With dangers lurking in every corner, and his desire to find out the truth, here they were. Honestly, he was anticipating and eager to see his parents again after a week of not showing his face to them. But at the same time, he was a little bit afraid of what he might find out once he ask either his dad or his mom.

He wasn't sure what would he find out but he has to know. Somehow, he felt that he wasn't only doing this for himself. He was also doing this for the person that saved his life.

He was doing this to somehow help Kourin.

He was still hesitant to go inside. But when he felt the warm hand of Yukiko placed on his shoulder, and when he saw her smile assuring him that it was going to be okay, he finally opened the gate.

"Okaa-san… Oyaji… are you here?" Ryoma called out. And there wasn't an answer after a few moments of waiting. He then let Conan, Yukiko and Yuusaku enter, then closed the gate.

He knocked at the front door just to know if there was someone inside. Gladly, someone opened the door.

"Ryoma-san!" Nanako could only exclain when she saw him standing there. Before he knew it, she was hugging him tight.

_Well, I should've expected this since I was out for a week and they don't have any clue where I went,_ he only thought to himself as Nanako was still hugging him.

She only stopped when they heard someone cough a little. They found out that it was Yuusaku.

"Forgive me for interfering with your reunion but we need to ask something important to Ryoma-kun's parents. Is there any chance that they're inside?" Yuusaku inquired calmly.

She nodded. Then she let them all enter the house.

As all of the guests removed their shoes and changed it to slippers, Ryoma couldn't help but to feel worried about what was going to happen.

He didn't know that Conan noticed it.

"You shouldn't be worried about anything. You're doing this to help yourself. In a way, you're also helping Rin. She deserves to live like normal kids do. And no matter what we'll find out from your parents, it might help both you and Rin to live peaceful lives again," Conan said, having a small reassuring smile plastered on his face.

Ryoma sighed. "You're right. I owe her my life, and to you, as well. Thanks."

"Thank me when this is over. But I think Rin deserves that even more."

That was the time when they heard someone running. Only to find out that it was Ryoma's mother Rinko who was coming down the stairs. Obviously, she missed Ryoma so much.

"Ryoma, why did you only come home now? I was worried sick about you! What happened?" Rinko said while hugging him.

"I'm sorry, Okaa-san. I just don't want you to be involved in any danger that I'm facing now," was all he could say.

"But no matter how much you don't want them to be involved in danger, they will be facing it sooner or later because of your father, Echizen-kun."

He was surprised when he heard that. And when he looked upstairs where he heard the voice, he saw a woman about the same age as Nanako standing there.

"Shouko-san, what are you doing here?" Yukiko asked.

The woman named Shouko bowed politely to the couple. "I should be heading to Hokkaido yesterday to finish our research and to confirm something that Ares told me. But I never made it there due to some… interferences."

"So Themis went after you, huh?"

She nodded. Then she faced Ryoma. "Rin-chan seemed to have taken good care of you, Echizen-kun," she said with a smile.

He questioningly looked at her. _How did she know that?_

"I know you're wondering how I found that out. By the way, I'm Akira Shouko. My older sister, Shouda, told me earlier about what happened to you a week ago. And the people that Rin-chan feared the most were the reason why you almost died. But it appeared that… there's more to it than just a simple chase. It's the real reason that you want to find out, that's why you came back here."

He stared at Shouko for a while as soon as she finished talking. He then sighed as a sign of giving up. Looked like interrogation time was about to start.

"You're right," Ryoma mumbled before glancing at his mother. "Okaa-san, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"I know what you want to ask from me. But only your father can answer that. Only he can tell you the whole truth about what you want to know for the sake of that kid who saved you."

Ryoma, Conan and his parents were puzzled. "What do you mean?"

But his mother only smiled—albeit sadly—and looked at him intently. "You better go to the tennis court. He's been staying there for at least an hour now."

_Probably reading his magazines again…_ Ryoma could only think as he shook his head slightly. But admit it or not, he kind of missed his father during that dangerous week that had passed.

Then all of them went to the living room with the exception of Ryoma who decided to see his father at the tennis court alone. But Conan couldn't help but to ask himself a question.

_Are we going to be able to find answers to the questions about what's really going on with Echizen-kun?_

But he guessed that he would learn probably everything about it soon enough.

-x-x-

_**Going to Seishun Gakuen…**_

Using her turbo roller skates (1), Kourin managed to go out of Beika District heading towards her destination: Seishun Gakuen. This was where the Seigaku regulars were studying and having their practices. Somehow, in about 40 minutes, she finally reached the said school.

_Finally, I made it!_ She thought triumphantly as she looked at the school with amazement. But as of the moment, she could only feel little amazement to it.

Right now, she needed to find the people she has to talk to: Fuji and Momoshiro. The same people who saved her a week ago from those punks who were bullying her back then.

Though there was doubt starting to take over her, she shoved it all away. She put her roller skates in her bag after removing her arm pads, kneepads, helmet, and elbow pads. After that, she became determined to enter the school and find what she has been looking for.

_I have to do this!_ And at that moment, she remembered Ryoma. She couldn't help feeling sad and… guilty. _I'm really sorry for doing this, Ryoma-niichan…_

But then she realized, she didn't even know where to start looking. Still, she focused herself on thinking and managed to figure out that they might be practicing at the tennis courts. She remembered what she had read on a magazine called Monthly Pro Tennis that there was an upcoming tennis tournament where the Seigaku Regulars were going to participate in. So there was no doubt that they were really practicing for that tournament.

While running to look for the tennis courts, she never noticed that someone was running towards her. That person was carrying a large box so he couldn't actually see her. By the time she just realized that, he already bumped at her, causing the contents of the box to scatter on the ground and they fell on their butts.

"Ouch! That really hurts…" she whined as silently as she could while rubbing her butt. By then, she noticed that someone was standing in front of her, that's why she looked up.

She saw a red head middle schooler worriedly looking at her, probably a senior. He has white strip plastered on his lower right cheek.

"Nya, are you alright?" he asked. Kourin nodded and then he helped her stand up. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't actually looking in the way." He began to pick up the scattered contents and put them back in the box in an incredible speed. Even still, she decided to help him.

While doing so, she noticed the clothes that the red head was wearing. Ryoma was wearing the same tennis uniform when she found him floating on the river.

_He's also one of the Seigaku regulars,_ she thought as both of them stood up.

"Thanks a lot, nya. And I'm sorry again for bumping on you. By the way, why are you here?"

"Umm… Well…" _This might be a good time to ask him about it. _"I-I was actually looking for the tennis courts since… I need to talk to somebody."

"Nya? Need to speak to somebody?" He looked at her buffled. She nodded. "Who might that be, nya?"

"I was actually looking for… Fuji-san and… Momoshiro-san because I need to—" But she never managed to continue her sentence when she heard someone called the name of the person she was talking to.

"Eiji, you're late."

When she looked around, she found out that the voice came from another middle schooler who was also wearing a Seigaku regular's tennis uniform. The person named Eiji approached the person with a buzzcut who called him, still carrying the box.

"Nyaa, sorry, Oishi. I forgot something in the classroom so I came back to get it. But then I accidentally bumped on her." He paused and glanced at her. "She said she was looking for Fujiko and Momo for some reasons."

Oishi questioningly looked at her for a few moments, causing her to feel nervous. But it was just for a little while since she was trying to fight it. It only faded when the guy decided to approach her and crouched down a little on her eye level, and then he smiled at her.

"Will it be okay if we accompany you to where Fuji and Momo are?"

Her eyes slightly widened in surprise but a smile replaced it soon after. "Really? You'll do that?"

Oishi nodded. Happily, though might have been done on impulse due to happiness, she hugged the guy.

As the three of them walked, Oishi asked her a question. "Why are you looking for Fuji and Momo, anyway?"

She stopped to her tracks. When they noticed that, Oishi and Eiji stopped as well and looked at her.

"Did I say something wrong?"

It took her a while before she shook her head as a response and faced them. "I just need to tell them something about… Ryoma-niichan since that's what I promised to them when they saved me back then."

"EH?!" Both of them exclaimed as soon as they heard her mention Ryoma's name. "You know where Echizen/Ochibi is?" The two boys asked in unison.

She reluctantly nodded since she was surprised by the sudden exclamation of two boys. Then the Golden Pair looked at each other and nodded.

"I guess it's really important for you to see Fuji and Momo. We need to hurry, then."

The three of them ran towards a certain direction and when they've reached the tennis courts, some people curiously eyed them, especially the little girl that the two regulars accompanied. But the others were still busy watching the practice matches of their other teammates. She easily scanned the tennis courts and then she finally found the two people she was looking for.

Fuji was watching the match while Momoshiro was having a tennis match with a tennis club member, since she easily recognized the people who saved her once.

But before she could approach them, she saw another Seigaku regular with stoic expression, auburn hair and wearing glasses who looked like a middle aged man than a middle schooler. Please forgive her for noticing that, but it was the truth. He was talking to Oishi and Eiji. From the looks of it, he was probably asking them about her. She then noticed the man's slightly surprised expression before casting a glance at her.

That was the time when Momoshiro's match ended with a score of 6-0, and he was the winner. The others had finally noticed her presence there; among them were Fuji and Momoshiro. The two regulars smiled when they saw her and she hesitantly waved her hand to say hi. Then they immediately approached her.

"It's a surprise you came here," Fuji said with his trademark smile.

"I'm sorry. Did I bother you?"

Fuji shook his head. When she looked at Momoshiro, he was smiling at her that made her feel calm somehow.

"I'm sorry if I came here without prior notice. It's just that… I'd like to say something to both of you personally. It's kind of important and I can't say it through phone."

The two regulars stared at each other confusingly then to her.

"What do you mean by that?" Momoshiro asked.

"Is it about Echizen?"

She nodded. But for some reasons, she couldn't look at them in the eyes. Though she could feel a warm aura from Fuji, it still wasn't enough for her to gather her courage to tell them that.

"Then what about Echizen? Do you know where he is?"

"I lied," she blurted out all of a sudden that made them quite surprised and baffled. "I lied… when I told you before that… I haven't seen him that time."

All of them fell silent. After she said that, she looked down, so her hair was actually covering her eyes and no one could guess what she was thinking at that moment. In reality, she was guilty for two reasons.

One, she was guilty because she couldn't keep her promise to Ryoma that she wouldn't tell Fuji and Momoshiro about the current situation, especially the danger that he was involved into. The freshman regular didn't want them to get involved in any danger he was currently facing and she thought of the same thing. But she didn't really have any choice.

Two, she was guilty because of a lie that she told to Fuji and Momoshiro a week ago. Those two saved her once but then she couldn't tell them the truth about Ryoma's whereabouts even though it was obvious that they really needed to learn it at that time.

She didn't notice the tears came flowing down her face. Still, she knew she would never be forgiven for what she did.

"Why did you have to tell this now? Why now? We saved you that time… That time when we're desperate to look for Echizen! Why did you have to lie to us?!" Momoshiro inquired in an angry and almost loud voice. Eiji was trying to calm him down along with Oishi and Kaidoh, despite the hissing man's protest. For one, he doesn't like the fact that Momoshiro was shouting (well, almost) at a crying little girl, even though he knew what his rival was feeling because of what they had just learned.

Kourin couldn't stop her tears from flowing. She guessed that those tears came flowing because of guilt, desperation and helplessness that she was feeling at the moment.

"She doesn't have any choice, you know? And besides, you're not the only one who's desperate," the voice of a familiar young girl (familiar to Kourin, that is) was heard from behind her. When she turned around, her eyes widened in surprise because of what she saw.

"Ai-chan! How did you…?"

"Edogawa-kun had a feeling that you might do something against someone's will, that's why he had me stalked you." Then Haibara showed a faint smile. "Turned out she was right."

"I'm sorry. I guess I caused much trouble than I ever thought," she said apologetically. Her eyes even showed that. She faced Fuji and gave a polite bow. "I'm really sorry for lying to you."

Fuji smiled an understanding smile. "There must be a personal reason for you to say that lie to us. If it's okay with you, can you tell us the reason for you to do that?"

She turned and then she saw Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko walking towards Haibara. They were smiling at her, like saying that she could do it. She faced Fuji and Momoshiro who had calmed down already, thanks to Tezuka and Oishi. Kaidoh was just hissing behind his rival.

She sighed before talking. _There's no other way. I have to do this, I guess. I'm really sorry, Ryoma-niichan… _"Ryoma-niichan's life is in danger," she answered soberly.

It was said simply, her words were simple to understand, as well. But the impact it caused to the people (especially to the regulars) who were listening to her intently was too much. Everyone was surprised when they heard that. Without much delay—technically after she let them recover from the shock of hearing what she said—she began explaining everything to them. Starting from the time she saved Ryomauntil to the truths and events that they had learned so far. After that, by the looks of it, everyone was in a state of disbelief.

"I had no choice but to keep the truth from you because of what had happened to him. I might have not known it at that time but I guess I really did it out of desperation so I could somehow spare him from letting him feel the same pain and sufferings I've felt before," sh said truthfully.

The other members could only comment through whispering but the Seigaku regulars remained silent.

"It must have been hard for you," Momoshiro commented, breaking the tensed silence in the process. He said it softly. "I'm sorry I raised my voice on you. I never had any idea that you've gone that far to protect him…" He shook his head when he realized something. "No… You've done that to protect all of us. You and Echizen did all that…"

Fuji nodded, agreeing on the matter. "That's true. So I guess there's no reason for you to apologize for keeping the truth from us. For now, that's the only thing you can do to protect him, or so it seems."

Somehow, she managed to smile. But that smile immediately faded when someone spoke a few meters behind her. That voice was so familiar to her that made her freeze in fear and shock.

"Apparently, you can't protect your new friends here now…"

And then she heard a soft yet maniacal and evil laugh.

"Isn't that right? Sole princess of the Shinomiya family …or should I say… Shinomiya Kourin, known as the only successor left among the members of the Shinomiya clan."

Several reactions erupted upon mentioning the real identity of the little girl.

"Shinomiya?! You mean the family that had been eradicated brutally a year ago?"

"It can't be, right? No one could have survived that kind of attack!"

"Aren't they all dead a year ago? That's what the news had stated when they featured the massacre happened in the Shinomiya mansion in Florida!"

"So someone still survived that gruesome massacre? And to think it was a girl, too…"

"You mean the family that's classified as one of the most distinguished families of Japan and protected by three other distinguished families? That Shinomiya?"

"That little girl belonged to Shinomiya family?"

"Come to think of it, she looked a lot like the wife of the head of the Shinomiya family. What was her name again?"

Several more reactions mixed in with the shocked atmosphere hovering around the place. But Kourin wasn't actually paying attention to that. Or maybe her mind was thinking of something else.

_It can't be!_ Those words were the only ones that her mind could scream in disbelief as she recognized the voice that called out her name and her title. Of course, the way it was said made her shudder in fear. She slowly turned around and at that moment when she laid her eyes on those people behind her, she couldn't stop her mind from replaying the gruesome past that she wanted to escape all this time.

She saw the auburn-haired woman dressed in black smirked when she finally faced her. As she looked at the suroundings, she noticed that there were other people dressed in black, just like that woman. All of those black-clad people were too familiar to her.

"Dark… Rose…?" She could only whisper those words as fear seemed to have consumed half of her mind.

"It seems like you still remember us, Princess Kourin. Even if you've barely seen us that night we eradicated your disgusting family a year ago…"

Kourin's eyes widened because of that and made her gasp in surprise at the same time. _So they still saw me escape that night?_

"Nyaa! What did you say? You killed her family a year ago?" Kikumaru could only exclaim as the others were shocked by that revelation.

"Eiji-senpai, aren't you watching the world news? It was featured all over the country! The news raged on like wioldfire for more than a month. But then it eventually died since the police couldn't find a lead about the murderer," Momoshiro said in disbelief.

"I should've known the reason why that girl was familiar when I first saw her. And the name, too… She did mention her name to us, didn't she?" Fuji inquired as he faced Momoshiro who was the only one who knew what he was talking about. The dunk smash specialist nodded when he remembered the events.

"Now that I think about it, the news stated that the police couldn't find the youngest child's body even though her blood was spilled beside the main family's bodies."

"So I guess it's true, then…" Oishi commented. "This little girl… could be the last surviving member of that murdered family…"

Haibara could only glare sharply at the person who reminded Kourin of her past. At the same time, she gave a signal to Ayumi. "Yoshida-san, did you bring your detective badge?" Ayumi nodded. "Then hide somewhere where you won't be caught by them, and tell Edogawa-kun about our situation here right now. I don't think Shinomiya-san would handle this easily and alone."

With that, Ayumi slowly stepped backwards and found herself a time to run without the enemy noticing. It was a good thing, or maybe the enemies chose to ignore it for some reasons but somehow, she succeeded.

Meanwhile, Kourin faced the woman with a blank expression on her face. _I never thought I'll be dealing with the Drak Rose sooner than I had expected. I already know that I have little to no chance of winning agains't them, especially if I'm reminded by that event that made me think it's already hopeless. But… I couldn't let the students here pay for something they're not supposed to be involved into._

"Why such a cold face, Princess? Aren't you grateful that you don't have to look for us anymore?"

"Themis…" she suddenly called out, facing the auburn-haired woman unwaveringly. "Or should I say… Yamaguchi Kazuko? My dead father's second cousin, right? Or you could correct me if I'm mistaken."

The woman called Themis gave her a stunned glare. "H-how did you…?"

"How did I find that out?" Kourin smirked. "Who do you take me for? After all, I'm the princess of the Shinomiya family, right? Just because you eradicated my family doesn't mean their battles will go down along with them in their graves. That night when you and the other Dark Rose members killed them, everything was entrusted to me. My father, my mother, my older brother—they've entrusted the fate of the four families in my hands. As long as I'm alive, I won't let you have your way. I'll do everything I can to protect what I have to protect, the same way my family and the other members of the three families had protected everything important to them."

"I guess you're not such a brat anymore, princess. I must admire you for that."

"Rin-san is not a brat!" Genta blurted out in anger.

"But what do you think a nine-year-old girl can do against the people who achieved the feat of eradicating the entirety of the Shinomiya family in just one night?" another woman taunted while facing the blank-faced young girl.

No words came out from Kourin's mouth after that. In a way, it was true. What could she do at her state right now?

"Rin-san… don't be so confident about this," Mitsuhiko said as he shivered in fear.

"Shinomiya-san…" Haibara called out. Kourin faced her. "What are you going to do now?"

She didn't speak to answer that. Then she looked at the students behind her, mostly were members of the Seigaku Tennis Club. _I couldn't let them get involved in this. They have nothing to do with my predicament. But… what exactly am I supposed to do now?_

She couldn't think properly. But she has to do something to stop whatever the Drak Rose were planning to do.

Even if it means putting herself in danger…

-x-x-

_**Beika Police Station, Beika District…**_

"What's this?" Inspector Megure took the folder that Doctor Yanai handed to him. The doctor decided that they needed the police's cooperation with the Dark Rose case.

The doctor gave a small bow. "I'm really sorry. I know that you're still investigating Echizen-kun's case but—"

"It's alright, Yanai-sensei." And then the inspector browsed the content of that folder, only to be shocked by what he had read.

_LIST OF THE DARK ROSE AGENCY MEMBERS…_ That was the title of that particular file. Everything was listed there, from the names of the members and their equivalent codenames, positions in the organization, age (even age of deaths to some of the members who already died prior to their case) and even nationality. It was listed in complete detail.

"Where did you get this? How did you manage to acquire this much information, Yanai-sensei?" Inspector Megure could only ask.

But before the doctor could answer, there was a call coming from the inspector's phone.

"Hello? This is Megure."

"Megure-keibu (2), there's a big trouble! Apparently, nine members of the Dark Rose have appeared at Seishun Gakuen. It seems that they had taken hostage of the students here."

"What?!" Inspector Megure exclaimed. Then he faced Doctor Yanai who was listening to the conversation due to the fact that the call was purposely turned on to speaker mode. "Alright! We'll send back-up right away. But make sure you won't chase the targets away. They are essential to us in order to close our current case. Understand?"

"Roger that!" And then the call ended.

"If that's the case, then we'll send our own special forces, as well."

The inspector agreed and everyone in the first division of the police department were in a frantic mode to save the hostaged students who were held captive by the Dark Rose.

_This is where the real battle begins…_ Doctor Yanai thought gravely.

-x-x-

_**Note:**_

_**1… The custom-made turbo roller skates are one of Kourin's prides as a young inventor, a skill and trait she most likely inherited from her mother and grandmother. She invented it in collaboration with Professor Agasa and Haibara as a part of her project. The construction of this was loosely based on Conan's solar-powered skateboard. The only difference is that her roller skates were not solar-powered, but battery-powered, that's why it's pretty convenient for her since she always brings batteries as spare because her turbo roller skates consume less energy.**_

_**2… "Keibu" is actually the Japanese equivalent of "Inspector". "Keiji" is for the officers under the inspector, like Detective Takagi. More often, I noticed that the English equivalent for "keiji" is either officer or detective, based on the translations provided in the series. But for private detectives, like Mouri Kogorou and Shinichi, they were referred to as "mentantei" or simply "tantei".**_

-x-x-

**Thank God, I finally updated this after how many months (I updated this last February 7, to be more exact). I've been busy, that's all I have to say. And no one reviewed on the last chapter so I kind of slowed down in writing this story. Sorry for that.**

**Okay, about Kourin being a smart girl… Well, I noticed that some of the characters that had appeared in Detective Conan series and movies (though they were only a few) were actually child prodigies. With one being an MIT graduate at the age of nine! NINE, PEOPLE! Talk about being too smart. So I guess I warned you about that part, huh? So basically, I created Kourin with a mind closer to that. Her family lineage is one factor why she has such advanced mind for a nine-year old kid. Okay?**

**Anyway, please leave your review about this chapter. I'll really appreciate it.**


	14. Sacred Items and The Miyuzaki Family

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own Shinomiya Kourin and the other OC's in this story.**

**Warning: Characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC**

**-x-x-**

**Chapter 13: Sacred Items and The Miyuzaki Family**

_I wasn't angry at my father because of keeping the truth from me about his friend who happened to be Rin-chan's father. I wasn't angry at all. I knew he was saving his best friend from danger that he never thought his friend was dealing with._

_Now I knew how hard it was for him to protect his friend and us at the same time. After he learned that I became involved in his previous predicament, he kept on saying sorry. I just let him, though. This was the first time I saw Oyaji this serious and I can feel it._

_But right now, I was far more concerned about the Miyuzaki clan's involvement, or so they said. Who were they, anyway? And what did they have to do with Rin-chan's family that I didn't know? I wanted to know about it._

_I wanted to know everything and everyone that surrounded the girl who saved me from near death._

_I don't know why I wanted to do that. Maybe… I wanted to be a part of Rin-chan's life at the very least. And if there was something I want to do, that would be… I didn't want her to be sad anymore…_

**-x-x-**

"It seems you're still not with us, Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma was startled with that. He saw everyone looking at him. He just shook his head for them not to worry about anything at all. After that, he faced Shouko.

"Umm… may I ask you a question? If you don't mind, that is…" he inquired, unwaveringly facing Nanako's friend.

"Of course, it's okay. What are you going to ask about, anyway?"

It took him a while to gather his courage and asked her a question. Man, this wasn't like him! This might be his first time that asking a personal question would be hard for him.

"I want to know how exactly are you connected to the Shinomiya family. It seems to me that you and Akira-sensei, even Yanai-sensei, are not simply acting as Rin-chan's guardians and friends."

He saw Shouko's stunned look while facing him.

"Ryoma-san, isn't that a bit too much to ask to her?" Nanako asked nervously.

But he didn't even twitch from his place one bit. Everyone in that house could see that he was really that determined to know the answer to his question.

He saw Shouko sighed and faced Yuusaku and Yukiko.

"Yuusaku-sama, Yukiko-sama, forgive me. But I think it's time for me to tell you all about the people surrounding and supposedly protecting the Shinomiya family. And that includes my role to the family, as well."

"What do you mean by that? Aren't you just working as a private investigator to blow the Dark Rose's cover?" Yukiko confusingly asked Shouko.

"Part of it was true. I do want to blow the Dark Rose's cover since that's what I promised to Rin-chan before. In addition to that, the Miyuzaki clan also acts as bodyguards to the Shinomiya family… eliminating all dangers that might befall upon the family in the process. Among them was the Dark Rose Agency."

"WHAT?!" All of them exclaimed.

"The previous members of the Miyuzaki clan were always assigned to assassinate all the people that could cause danger to the people they were protecting. A noble clan by day, contract bodyguards by night—that's originally the duties of the Miyuzaki family. Our clan had been like that for centuries. It's true that we're the ones who choose the people or family that we want to protect. But it's also a part of us that we would do whatever our masters have asked us to do, even if it was against our will. Every member of the clan must make that vow. Oftentimes, members of the clan were usually assigned secret missions before, usually to kill some mercilessly that was considered eyesores or hindrances to the previous members' masters." After that, she sighed.

The others could only listen to what Shouko was saying since they couldn't speak because of shock. After that, she continued speaking.

"The previous members couldn't oppose to it, no matter how much they wanted to. They had given themselves a span of one year to serve the people they've chosen. If they liked their masters' way of treating them, then they could stay with them for as long as they want. But it so happened that most of their masters who were using the clan merely as a tool didn't want them to leave. That's why they don't have any other choice but to eliminate all dangers that threatened the people they were protecting—" she paused. "—including the masters that they were serving to end everything that could be used as a connection, particularly the contract that binds them."

_I can't believe it! Are the Miyuzaki clan really that dedicated to the point of obeying every order for a year?_ Ryoma could only say in his mind as he kept on listening to Shouko.

While Conan, who remained quite all this time, could only watch the woman as she kept on revealing everything to them. He couldn't actually consider the two cases as close since they haven't captured the criminals responsible for the massacre at Florida that has eliminated the entirety of the Shinomiya family members and some members of the Miyuzaki clan: The Dark Rose Agency.

Yet there was still the mystery that he wanted to find out.

_What exactly does the Dark Rose wants with Rin and her family for them to eradicate the whole family in a single night? Every crime committed has a reason, and for sure, the same goes for that massacre. But what?_

"So does that mean you were also asked to kill someone or maybe even follow an order that is against your will, Shouko-san?" Nanako asked.

Shouko could see in her friend's eyes that she was expecting a good answer. That was why she shook her head and then smiled at her. "No, I was not. I'm only allowed to kill if it's absolutely necessary—and in a dire situation at that. As for the order given to me that I need to follow against my will, there is no such thing in my years of serving the Shinomiya family. As far as I can remember, I was only assigned to guard the family treasure and to investigate with regards to a few important matters."

"But how? You said that most of the masters that your clan had served were forcing you to do their bidding because of the vow you made as a member of the clan," Ryoma said.

"It's true that the clan were always forced to do everything even against our will. But that was before the daughter of the head of our clan changed everything."

"Huh?" That made not only the freshman, but even the others curious and baffled.

She sighed and then continued. "It began 90 years ago, when the daughter of the head of the Miyuzaki clan, Miyuzaki Mina, fell in love with the man she was protecting. That man was no other than the Shinomiya family's successor, Shinomiya Yoshito."

"Ryuuki's father?" Nanjiroh exclaimed when he heard that name. Shouko nodded in response to that. "But I know that Miyuzaki Mina was a gifted scientist at that time that managed the laboratory she founded. How can you say that she was the one assigned to protect him?"

"She chose to do that herself,' Shouko flatly said. "Even though their parents opposed to their relationship at first, they continued to love each other. It took them four years before Mina-sama's parents finally accepted their relationship. That was the time when the Miyuzaki clan and the Shinomiya family had joined forces. The Miyuzakis still do some people-guarding jobs to other people but they carefully chose the people that they wanted to protect with the help of the Shinomiya clan. They chose somebody who would treat them as humans with emotions, not those who would treat them as a tool to do their bidding. Most of us decided to serve the Shinomiya family for as long as we live. Not because it was a part of a vow but because of the fact that we're thankful. Our clan's loyalty would only remain to the Shinomiya family. It's a proof that we're glad we won't have to serve a brutal or tyrant masters anymore." Then she smiled after that and faced Ryoma. "In case you're wondering, my sister and Shinichiro-oniisan are actually engaged to be married, that's why he's also involved in most of the cases that we're handling, and even in our live. He has vowed to serve the Shinomiya family as a payment for serving him a long time ago. Does that answer your question, Echizen-kun?"

The freshman nodded and faced his parents.

Then Conan asked Shouko a question. "What exactly is the treasured secret that you're deliberately protecting? And why does the Dark Rose killed Rin's family that night, like what my parents had told me?"

"Your parents?" They asked the boy in unison. Conan slapped himself mentally because of what he said in mistake. Then he laughed nervously. _Great! I can't believe I said that. How am I supposed to explain it to them?_ He silently pleaded his parents for help. His mother smiled.

Yukiko faced the others. "We'll explain everything once this predicament is over. Right now, can you please answer this boy's question, Shouko-san?"

It took her a while to decide on what to say. The others were anticipating her answer to Conan's questions.

"The Dark Rose wanted to exact their vengeance to the family who had banished them more than 50 years ago. They were the ones who attempted to assassinate the fourth son of the head of the Shinomiya family because of their ultimate desire to control the family and at the same time, govern the Miyuzaki clan and order us to the fullest. That act resulted to the banishing of 68 people who supported the assassination plot."

"You mean, all of them served the Shinomiya family?"

"Yes. Most of them were actually—" Shouko paused and sighed. "—members of the Shinomiya clan."

"You got to be joking!" Conan exclaimed in disbelief. His eyes widened. "So the people who attacked the Shinomiya mansion a year ago… were Rin's relatives?"

Shouko nodded. "That is their so-called 'ancient agenda of the organization'—to eradicate every member of the Shinomiya family and the people that supported them. That's why that night, some of the Miyuzaki clan members and a few others were also killed. I think their desire to put an end to the Shinomiya family and their hatred to the very family that banished them became their ultimate source of strength to finish off those that are in their way."

Ryoma could feel his strength slowly draining because of what he learned about the mysteries surrounding the Shinomiya family—Kourin's family. _I wonder if Kourin knew the identity of the enemy being her relatives…_

Conan felt himself as a useless being—not able to help his cousin when all this time she was bearing the pain and loneliness all alone. He had done nothing to help her, to at least ease up all the bad emotions that Kourin felt that night—the night she lost her parents and her brother.

"Then what about the treasured secret of the Shinomiya family? Is that what they were after when they killed the family besides having their revenge?" Conan asked.

"About that…" Shouko looked at Nanjiroh. The man just gave a small nod, as if giving her permission to tell them the truth… which was a bit ironic because it was the Miyuzaki family who guarded and protected that particular secret and not Ryoma's father. But they knew the truth and they knew the people whom they going to tell the secret. "Well, they're actually… the fourteen sacred items essentially used for the coming-of-age ceremony of the leader's successor. It is also called _The Celestial Succession Ceremonial Items_ **(a)**, or at least that's how it is formally called. Those items are usually used during the coming-of-age ceremony when the successor turned 14 and also during the succession ceremony three years after, when the successor turned 17 in order to be acknowledged as the new leader of the clan. Among those 14 items, there are only two in which the Dark Rose sought for. The first and the most important is the _Celestial Sun Scepter_ that bears the family seal. It enables the successor to give one and only one order to the former leader of the Shinomiya clan and to the Miyuzaki clan that will never be taken back. Even is that order is against our will to follow, we will do it. So far, the only order that we followed upon Ryuuki-sama's command was to protect the life of the Shinomiya princess, Rin-chan, if something happened to the main family, even if we have to risk our lives for it."

"What about the second item?"

"The second item is called the _Tulip Seal_. That seal was etched with the family's flower emblem, which is the purple tulip, that is also used to give orders but it extends to all of the people tightly connected to the Shinomiya family. And that order, as well, will never be taken back."

Nanjiroh continued Shouko's story. "That seal can be used as a letter stamp, placed on a letter where the order is written. I was one of those people who received that kind of letter from Ryuuki, saying that I should never reveal the 14 items to anyone. It depends on me if I should reveal what I know to my family, he said."

"So that means, those ceremonial items does not only possess a massive amount of fortune when sold, but it also gives the leader of the clan a power and authority similar to the Emperor?"

Shouko nodded in response to Nanako's question. "That's why only chosen and the most trusted people are allowed to touch it, especially when the coming-of-age ceremony and the succession ceremony has come," she added.

"But in this case, no one would be able to touch it for a long time since Rin, the only successor left for the Shinomiya family, hasn't reached the right age. If I'm right, it would take five more years before the formal coming-of-age ceremony," Conan stated while looking at Shouko who nodded in return.

That was when Conan's detective badge suddenly beeped, indicating that someone among the Detective Boys was calling him.

"Hello? This is Conan."

"Conan-kun, this is Ayumi. We have emergency. Can you notify the police for us?"

"What do you mean emergency? Ayumi-chan, what's going on?"

"We followed Rin-san like what you asked us to. As a matter of fact, we're here at Seishun Gakuen right now. But then, the Dark Rose suddenly appeared and Rin-san is scared because of it. They're taunting her about what happened a year ago. Conan-kun, she really needs help."

Conan could feel Ayumi's voice quivering for he knew that the girl was also afraid of what might happen.

"What's the situation over there, Ayumi?" He has to know everything that was going on.

"Well…" The girl stopped talking for a while, as if contemplating, before speaking again. "It seems like the 9 members of the Dark Rose wanted to keep the students here as hostages since they had scattered around the school, bringing them their guns and swords."

_Guns? Swords? Oi, oi… Just what kind of battle do these people want to happen? We're not in the old era to use swords as a main fighting weapon, you know…_ But that was when he remembered a certain passage from the file he read last night. To be more precise, it was an old book that tells of the Shinomiya family's principle.

"_**The Shinomiya family prefers a hand-to-hand combat in battles, mostly aided with bladed weapons. In battles, even before the clan's founding, they believe in close combat with the enemy. Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—kill the enemy up close. That was their principle. This principle was adapted up until now. The modern weapons, however, only strengthened their enemy's—the Dark Rose Agency's—fighting power but since most of them belonged to the Shinomiya family, they also adapted this principle in battle. Along with this, they also believed that they could destroy the family from within thru internal family dispute. And so, the Dark Rose was formed with members consisting of mostly the Shinomiyas who hated the main family and others who held the same grudge. But the main family and those who remained faithful and loyal to their leader became even stronger and close to one another. A close-family tie principle—they used this in order to protect one another from any possible reasons that could destroy the family from within. As long as they stick together and never betray each other, no one can destroy them anymore… not even the Dark Rose…"**_

If that passage was true, then the agency preferred to end Kourin's life using the very same principle—the old principle. To kill their enemy as the ancients does it. It would be the blade they all possessed that they would be using to end the Shinomiya princess's life for good. They already killed the rest of the Shinomiya, and so it was natural for the enemy to think that because only Kourin survived the attack that night, they could kill the princess as easy as that. They thought she was defenseless and vulnerable. Well, the latter was somehow true. But the former? Conan knew it would be impossible. It wasn't only the Miyuzaki clan who vowed to protect the last Shinomiya princess at all cost. Two more families made a vow about the same thing.

But it seemed that the Dark Rose Agency didn't know that, basing it on his observation and information he acquired during the case.

As the boy was about to answer, Shouko's phone suddenly rang. To her surprise, her sister's name appeared on the screen of the phone.

"Hello?"

"Shouko, we got emergency. The Dark Rose. Unfortunately, they've located Rin-chan, too." Doctor Akira informed on the other line.

This surprised the woman. "That can't be! How did that happen? By the way, where's Rin-chan?"

"The police said that they saw her at Seishun Gakuen along with the other kids who happened to follow her there. According to Shin, they've held the students there as hostages if Rin-chan won't abide to their bidding."

Shouko could only sigh in exasperation and distress because of what she heard.

Nanako couldn't help but to ask her a question in a worried tone.

"Shouko-san, what's going on?"

But the said woman didn't answer. Apparently, it was her sister who was doing all the talking on the other line, even though Ryoma and particularly, Conan wanted to hear the conversation, as well.

"What's the plan, then?" Shouko asked.

She heard her sister sigh heavily. "The clan is already planning to storm the school and fight the Dark Rose with little damage to us as possible. But I don't think the latter will happen. Still, we have to try."

"How many are they?"

"Nine, but as expected, the clan can deal with the situation faster than we thought."

She couldn't say a word for a while. _I have to do something to save them… to save Rin-chan. Like what Ryuuki-sama had ordered us a long time ago… and like what I have promised to the princess before I set off to finish the mission. _With that, she had come up with a decision.

"Onee-chan, I'll go with you to finish the fight."

"Eh?!" It was a definite surprise to Doctor Akira when she heard her sister's words. "Shouko, are you serious about that? Nanako-san told me that you're wounded. I don't think you could fight with a weak body like that."

"But this wound is nothing compared to what we're going to feel when we know we had failed Ryuuki-sama. He gave us his only irrevocable order—to protect Rin-chan at all cost. I'll never be able to forgive myself if we had really failed to obey Ryuuki-sama's order because of this," she unwaveringly stated, not minding about the eyes that stared at her in curiosity and at the same time, with worries.

She heard her sister sigh on the other line. But instead of feeling something negative about it, she smiled.

For she knew that Doctor Akira would agree with her. Even though it wasn't obvious, her sister—her older sister—was as devoted to serving and protecting the surviving member of the Shinomiya family as she was.

And they both knew that.

"Okay. I'll let you fight. But you have to take the antidote first before going into danger. Your arm might have some of the chemicals that penetrated all the way through your nerves that could cause paralysis to some of your body parts, especially your affected arm, for starters."

She couldn't help smiling at her sister's remarks. "Thanks, Onee-chan." She ended the phone call, followed by facing Ryoma intently. "We need to get to Seishun Gakuen right now. We have to trouble and Rin-chan—"

"Rin's there, along with my friends," Conan finished Shouko's sentence.

The others stared at the boy in shock and disbelief.

"But why would she be there?" Ryoma could only asked, although he probably had an idea what Rin could be doing at his school.

"We'll be able to answer that question when we got there. Right now, we need to know what are the Dark Rose's business to pull this kind of news to the people. They've even held the students as hostages just to let the girl abide to their bidding."

"This has got to be a joke! What could a nine-year-old girl do with them?" Rinko exclaimed, her worries were vividly expressed in her eyes.

"Only one thing," Nanjiroh answered his wife's question gravely. "And that is her death. For sure, that's the only thing they want from her to finish what they had started. Probably, they're going to make a repeat of what had happened a year ago in Florida… just like how Ryuuki and the rest of his family died that night…"

Rinko covered her mouth and started to burst into crying. Nanako and Nanjiroh tried to calm her down. Ryoma could only look down so his bangs covered his eyes and Conan was looking at Shouko. Yuusaku and Yukiko stared worriedly at each other.

What Ryoma had said, though, made the others surprised and couldn't utter a word.

"Then I'll go with you, Akira-san. I'll go to Seigaku with you."

Silence filled the room. It took them a little while to have Ryoma's words sink into their minds.

"Ryoma, that's dangerous! You would be killed by them and I can't let that happen," his mother calmly said but with intensity and in an extremely serious tone.

"Oyaji had already put our lives in danger a long time ago without us knowing it. And that danger became even closer when I was chased by them a week ago. Right now, I don't care if I put myself in danger. I want to save Rin-chan…" His voice softened after saying that name. "This is the least I can do for her as a thanks for saving my life."

"But she didn't save your life for you to waste it in an unpredictable battle that will surely kill a lot of people. And that includes your life, as well, if you're not careful," Conan said matter-of-factly.

Ryoma sighed. "I couldn't leave her like that, facing dangers and all."

"And neither can we," the boy added. "But if you're really going to Seigaku, then—" he paused. "—then I'll go with you."

But before the others could give their reactions, somebody said something that made them change their focus.

"It doesn't matter now who will go. But whoever will go with you, better hurry up because the situation at the campus got worse."

"Shinichiro-oniisan!" Shouko exclaimed upon seeing her sister's fiance.

"What do you mean?" Yuusaku asked the doctor.

"The Dark Rose is trying to hurt every people that protects Rin-chan."

Shouko sighed heavily and after a few moments, she stood up.

"We better hurry up and get going."

-x-x-

_**Note:**_

_**1… **__The Celestial Succession Ceremonial Items, as mentioned here, are the 14 fictional sacred items gathered by the founder of the Shinomiya family more than 500 years prior to the present storyline and blessed by the imperial family. They used these items in two important occasions to the clan: the coming-of-age ceremony and the succession ceremony. Like what Nanako has speculated, the items possess a massive amount of fortune when sold and it gives the possessor (usually the head of the clan) a power similar to the emperor that can be used to many extent. The number 14 (the number of items) happened to be the age of the family successor where he/she would be able to use the items on the coming-of-age ceremony. These 14 items are extremely essential in acknowledging the successor as the future leader of the Shinomiya clan. The collected items happen to have a combination of different cultures. Listed below are the items:_

_**-Celestial Sun Scepter**__ (the use of this was explained)_

_**-Tulip Seal**__ (the use of this was explained)_

_**-Priestess' Veil**_ (worn if the successor is female and displayed if the successor is male)

_**-Sword of Light **_(carried if the successor is male and displayed if the successor is female)

_**-Celestial Iris Comb **_(worn by the female successor)

_**-Statue of the White Tiger of the West, Byakko**_

_**-Statue of the Black Tortoise of the North, Genbu**_

_**-Statue of the Azure Dragon of the East, Seiryuu**_

_**-Statue of the Vermillion Bird of the South, Suzaku**_

_**-Golden Flute **_(the only treasure representing the Shinomiya family's mysterious 13th Knight of the Sky)

_**-Fan of the Fire**_ (elemental representative item of the Sun Knight, the Azuraya family)

_**-Mirror of the Waters **_(elemental representative item of the Star Knight, the Miyuzaki family)

_**-Crown of the Earth **_(elemental representative item of the Shinomiya family)

_**-Horn of the Winds **_(elemental representative item of the Moon Knight, the Yumemiya family)

***FURTHER NOTE:** The last 4 items will be mentioned as well in the sequel of this story "Tennis Court Murders". Even the other two families besides Shinomiya and Miyuzaki will be mentioned and further elaborated in that story, as well. Wait for it, okay?

-x-x-

**That's it for Chapter 13. Please review!**


	15. The Dreaded Danger

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own Shinomiya Kourin and the other OC's in this story.

**Warning: **Characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC

**A reply to **_Arcatamous_**'s review: **Thanks for reviewing this story despite this being in the crossover section. I should've finished posting all the chapters a long time ago but… certain circumstances happened that made me not to. I thought no one would be reviewing this anymore so I slowed down in writing for a while. I hope you'll like this chapter even though it was obviously short.

**-x-x-**

**Chapter 14: The Dreaded Danger**

_Seishun Gakuen…_

"What exactly do you want from me?" Kourin coldly asked to the woman in front of her. The woman who was codenamed Themis.

Themis only laughed in a sinister manner. "Well, you should know that already, princess. We need to know where you keep the Celestial Succession Ceremonial Items. If you can't provide us with the right information—" she paused and took hold of something from her inner chest pocket. She took it out and revealed a handgun, a .45 caliber pistol to be exact. "—one of your friends will be shot," Themis said, and then smirked. "I believe it was known to you and the Miyuzaki clan about the content of the bullets that our agency are using right now. I think it would be best if I remind you that this is the exact same gun that I used to kill your beloved mother, Rina. The one known as Purple Angel of the Shinomiya clan. And the chemicals inside of these bullets were containing the same component as those of that almost burned your right hand when you touched your mother's body that night."

Kourin could only widened her eyes in disbelief. Only her uncle and aunt, along with Nanasaki Hotaru, knew that since they saw her did it. _How in the world did she know that?_

"And in addition to that, this is the same weapon I used to somehow eradicate your guardian, Miyuzaki Shouko. I think her body would start to decompose by now if she hadn't escape my bullet and made it out of the river," Themis added.

_That can't be! That can't be!_ Her mind screamed those words over and over because she couldn't make herself utter a word after hearing all of it from Themis—one of the people that destroyed her happy life with her family.

"What did you do to Shouko-san?" the girl asked as icily as she could.

_I would definitely enjoy doing this until you couldn't stand it anymore. I would definitely enjoy seeing you hurt and suffer in pain. Don't worry, I'll have you join your family in hell soon enough. _Themis took a few steps forward. "Even if I tell you that she's dead, you wouldn't believe it, right?"

But before she could answer, someone called out Themis.

"Oi, Themis! Why aren't you killing her? That's what the boss ordered us to do and you're in charge of bringing him that brat's head. So why aren't you doing it?" the woman with a short blond hair inquired.

"You shouldn't worry, Thea," Themis answered facing Kourin with a smirk on her face. "I'll definitely kill her after I let her suffer some more. At least, she'll know how her family suffered before they heaved their last breath. I'll let her relive that night in her mind and make her suffer once again when I kill all of the people that she treasures. I'll let those people bathe in their own blood and the princess could only watch it happen in fear because she couldn't do anything to protect them. She doesn't have the ability to protect them in the first place. Am I right, Kourin-ojousama?"

Even if Kourin was shocked at what she had heard, her face was only showing a sad look.

_She's right..._ With that realization, she felt her tears streaked down her face. _I never did anything to protect my family... my own source of strength. In fact, it was the other way around. They were the ones who protected me. I just watch them lose their lives that night in order to save me... to protect me... to let me feel their love for me that goes even beyond their grave... I don't have such ability to protect those that I treasure the most. I really am useless..._

"You're wrong!" Ayumi shouted that brought Kourin out of her musings. The princess turned around to look at her friend who shouted that.

"Rin-san has the ability to protect those people she cares the most in her own way. Because if she doesn't have that ability in the first place, she wouldn't be able to rescue Ryoma-niichan from near death a week ago," Ayumi continued as she looked at the annoyed woman unwaveringly.

"Ayumi-chan..." Kourin could only say. But before she could say anything else, she saw the woman name Thea slapped Ayumi hard that knocked the girl on the ground. She approached Ayumi immediately after she stabbed Thea's right leg with an ice pick that she brought out of her pocket.

The other kids rushed towards Ayumi and tried to help her stand up. The two boys were holding her on both elbows while Haibara dusted off her cloths.

Kourin stood in front of the knocked down Ayumi and the other kids as she defended her with her arms spreading wide, blocking her enemy from hurting her friend any longer.

"Rin-san, don't do this. You'll get hurt if you keep this up," Ayumi warned.

_You're wrong, Ayumi-chan. I'll get hurt either way whether I protect you or not. But I don't want to make the same mistake again. This is for the best…_ Kourin thought sadly and faced the Dark Rose members unwaveringly.

"You brat!" Thea grumbled furiously as she bear the pain from the stabbed right leg. But even if she was furious about what Kourin did, she could see no fear in the princess's eyes.

"I'm the one you want to destroy, right? So don't you dare include my friends in this. Kill me now if you want to. But I'm not going to let you hurt anyone here any further," Kourin said firmly without fear evident in her voice.

"Is she serious?" Momoshiro could only ask in disbelief.

"I think so. We don't know Kourin-chan that much but I can feel that she's serious about it," Fuji replied with his eyes open at the sight.

"But Fuji-senpai, that girl—"

"That girl saved and protected Echizen a week ago. She's just a girl, we all know that. But even if she's just a girl, she's staking her life to defend the people she can protect now."

All of them could feel from Kourin what exactly Fuji meant. The girl was staking her life to protect those people important to her now. She was doing something she never got to do during that tragic night. All of them could feel her courage to retort such words to the enemies like that even though she was just a kid—a nine-year-old girl who had experienced one of the greatest cruelty that the world could offer.

Thea sighed and then smirked. "You sure are brave to say that, brat."

But Kourin didn't even twitch from her position. She has to face her greatest fears if she wanted to survive this. Her friends shouldn't have to be involved in this mess. They've already done enough to break her out of her shell with the help of her cousin. It was time for her to repay them for doing that. And protecting them—even if she had to stake her life in the process—would be the best way for her to do that.

"I don't know what the hell you want from Kourin-chan at this point—" Momoshiro paused and approached the long-haired fourth grader. Kourin was surprised when she heard him speak. "—but do you think I would allow you to hurt her?"

"Momoshiro-san… what are you doing?" Kourin mumbled as she saw him slowly approaching.

"Momo, that's dangerous. Stay here!" Oishi warned but Momoshiro unheeded those words. Fuji didn't say anything, though. The tensai's eyes were open and staring at his kouhai with a different level of seriousness that even Tezuka felt was weird. But given the fact that he knew what had happened a week ago while the team were looking for Ryoma, then everything would surely fell into place. They knew the severity of the case more than anyone among the Seigaku team members.

"If what Fuji said that the girl really saved Echizen, I guess Momo just want to return the favor," Kawamura commented when he saw his fellow powerhouse player's face. It was completely different from what he usually see from Momoshiro. "That girl already did a lot to protect us like this. We can't even help her at this point."

"But Kawamura-senpai—"

"Ah!" That loud yelp of pain caught almost every student's attention followed by the sound of several gunshots.

What they saw was a slightly bleeding Momoshiro clutching his right shoulder. Before any of the regulars could approach him, he yelled out, "Stay where you are!" with intensity. Of course, they were surprised to hear that. But they still did what they were told.

"Momo… Just what do you think you're doing?" Eiji could only mumble in distress as he tried to calm and stop himself from doing anything rash similar to what his kouhai did.

"Momoshiro-san!" Kourin shrieked and her eyes widened in surprise. "Don't! Don't hurt him! He has nothing to do with this!" And then she approached the younger powerhouse player. "Please! Just stay here, okay? Don't do anything rash anymore. I don't want anymore people to get hurt because of me… Please…" Hot tears streaking down her cheeks soon followed her words of pleading for the person who saved her a week ago from those bullies.

Despite the pain coming from his shoulder, which was only grazed by the bullet, Momoshiro faced the girl with a grin on his face. "I'm doing this to return the favor. You saved Echizen which made you decide to create a lie to me and Fuji-senpai. It's about time for me to repay you for that… for doing that to my best friend and my kouhai."

"But why? You don't have to go this far for me. I'm just a stranger…" Kourin reasoned out. Her tears didn't cease to fall, though.

"I guess you're right… but you never treated Echizen like that, right?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. She winced along with that expression.

Momoshiro gently smiled. "Then I'll ask you. Why do you have to go such length to defy them just to protect your friends? To protect everyone? Aren't these the people who took the lives of your family a year ago?"

She felt as if words left her at that instant. "I… I…" To say that she was surprised to hear those words was an undestatement. She really didn't know what to say to that at all.

But before she could answer it completely, she saw Iapetus was about to his Momoshiro with his katana that caught both of them off-guard. The regulars, despite Momoshiro's warning, tried to rush towards the two. Kourin closed her eyes in fear. All of the students, even the Detective Boys, were shocked just by looking at it. They couldn't even look.

But all of a sudden, a soccerball appeared and came flying from out of nowhere that knocked the katana from the man's hands. He kneeled as he bear the pain. And before they could react even further, they noticed some people entering the school grounds.

"You can open your eyes now, Kourin-chan." She heard Momoshiro said those words calmly. Then slowly, she opened her eyes, only to be relieved and surprised when she looked around to see the situation.

"They're here… Everyone's here…" she whispered as she saw the members of the Miyuzaki clan restricting the Dark Rose members' movements. As she looked around even more, she couldn't help but to show a smile of relief when she saw some familiar faces.

"Ryoma-niichan! Conan-kun! Shouko-san! Akira-sensei! Yanai-sensei!" she happily called out the names of the people who had just arrived at the scene. From afar, she could see police cars and their headlights. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about… something. Why were they standing afar from the school grounds?

When the Seigaku regulars and the other members of the tennis club—including Tomoka and Sakuno, even Coach Ryuzaki—saw Ryoma standing along with Kourin's other friends, they happily called out Ryoma's name as they felt relieved.

"We're saved!" Mitsuhiko said in relief.

Kourin smiled at them and relieved when she saw that everything seemed to have been under control already.

But then, she didn't know why her heart was beating abnormally fast. It was as if she was fearing for something else that was about to happen.

_Could it be…? I know and I can feel it. Something's wrong here. The Dark Rose wouldn't really give in like this. Why? _And then she felt her heart by putting her right hand to her hand. _Why is my heart beating this fast? Why am I fearing for something to happen? Why…?_

With that thought, she stood up and looked around one more time. A few seconds later, she set her eyes on the rooftop of the building about 300 yards north of Seishun Gakuen's school grounds. Doing so, however, only made her notice something that stunned her.

_No way! It can't be…_

**-x-x-**

**I have to end this here for now. Cliff-hanger? I don't think so. What do you think is that Kourin saw on that building and to think it's about 300 yards away? Well, it's for you to find out soon. That's it for Chapter 14. Please read and review! I need inspiration, people! :)**


	16. Sniper's Shot Hits The Target

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own Shinomiya Kourin and the other OC's in this story.

**Warning: **Characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC

**-x-x-**

**Chapter 15: Sniper's Shot Hits The Target**

"Surprised to see me alive, Themis?" Shouko taunted with a smirk, a katana on her hand.

That was what made Themis infuriated. She was constrained to the ground by one of the Miyuzaki clan members, with a gun pointed to her head.

"I should've killed you instantly with that bullet!" Themis shouted angrily. Though she tried to break free from being constrained, she couldn't.

But Shouko ignored her. Instead, the woman approached Conan and smiled. "Thank you for saving Rin-chan, Conan-kun."

The boy smiled at her. "It's alright, Shouko-san. Besides, you're not the only one who wanted to save her." Then he looked at the two doctors, and eventually at the freshman who was looking at the Seigaku regulars worriedly.

But when he looked at his cousin, he saw the distraught and scared expression of the girl who was looking at a certain direction. So he tried following the path that she was looking at, only to see a building approximately 300 yards away from the school.

_Did Rin see something on that building? And what was that scared look on her face, as if she had seen a ghost or something? Did she?_ Conan had a lot of question about what he saw on his cousin but he would ask later.

All he has to worry about right now was the enemy. But he, too, felt that something was wrong with the whole situation. It all seemed too easy.

Even though it was pretty obvious that the captured enemies were furious, they couldn't even make a move to break free. And when they did, there seemed to be no effort at all.

It was as if they weren't really trying to get out and fight them back. And it also seemed that they've predicted the arrival of the Miyuzaki clan to rescue Kourin, with the exception of Shouko's appearance on Themis' part.

Did they?

_But if they had really predicted it, then that means… This is not over yet!_ And coming up with that conclusion, Conan had to go to the building that Kourin was looking at earlier. If he had guessed right, then someone from that building could kill either Ryoma or Kourin.

He had to stop that before it was too late. He could only hope he could make it in time.

Meanwhile, Ryoma was still standing beside Shouko, Doctor Akira and Doctor Yanai. He was looking at the Seigaku regulars who were definitely happy to see him. The Detective Boys were also happy to see him, as well.

But he couldn't understand the scared and distraught look that he saw on Kourin's face earlier. That look wasn't meant for him, though.

He was about to approach his friends to greet them when suddenly, he saw Kourin ran towards him.

"Watch out!" She pushed him as hard as she could that made Ryoma fall to the ground. After a few seconds, all of them heard something shatter and crack, along with a faint gunshot.

**-x-x-**

_Damn it! I'm already late!_ Conan frustratingly concluded in his thoughts as he heard the gunshot from the rooftop. He was already at the 7th floor of the building just across Seishun Gakuen that Kourin was looking at earlier.

But even though he was already late, he had to stop the person who shot someone at the campus. Even if it was just a feeling, that person might kill both Ryoma and Kourin.

And that was one thing he would never allow to happen.

After learning every possible danger that his cousin had involved herself into, he wanted to do all the things that he could to help her finish what she… no, what her family had started. After all, that was why his Uncle Ryuuki and Aunt Rina had sacrificed their lives for in order to save Kourin.

Not just them. Even Hitoshi and her other relatives who remained faithful in serving the Shinomiya family have sarificed their lives for the sake of the future of Kourin's family. They've entrusted the future of the clan on her hands.

The only thing he could do to help her fulfill her family's last will was to defeath the very threat that ended the lives of so many people who wanted his cousin to survive.

_Don't worry, Rin. This is one of the many things I could do to help you rebuild your life and your future. I'm not going to let them destroy that! _He promised to himself as he traversed the stairs as fast as he could to reached the rooftop of the building.

When he reached it, he saw a woman holding a long gun usually used by snipers. What was worse, the gun was pointing at Seishun Gakuen!

"What did you do?" he asked sternly, but his eyes narrowed. "Who were you trying to kill out there?"

The woman smirked menacingly. All of a sudden, she aimed the gun at him. "You are already late, kid."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I was supposed to kill that tennis brat, Echizen Ryoma. But unfortunately, I've hit the wrong target," the woman said.

Conan's eyes widened. "Damn you! And who are you, anyway? Why do you want to destroy Echizen-kun that badly?"

"I'm codenamed 'Artemis' of the Dark Rose Agency," the woman calmly introduced herself, still pointing the gun to him. "And unfortunately, it's none of your damn business why we wanted to destroy that tennis brat."

The boy could only clenched his fist at his side after that.

Right now, he couldn't think of how fast his enemy in front of him was. But he has to hit her somehow with her soccerball to make her unconscious and let the Miyuzakis continue the battle to stop the Dark Rose Agency for good.

Artemis started to pull the trigger but to her surprise, the boy in front of her had kicked a soccerball faster than she thought. Unfortunately, it was too late for her to avoid that ball coming towards her in a fast speed.

Before she knew it, she was struck with the ball right to her face. She then lost her grip on her gun and at the same time, lost her balance that caused her to drop it to the ground. Her head bumped to the wall that she was positioned to earlier, causing her to lose consciousness, like what Conan had planned.

Conan didn't know why but he was actually catching his breath just by doing that. He realized that he might have overdid it. He somehow figured that he might have used up all of his own strength combined with power of his super-kicking shoes to make that powerful strike.

He sighed. Man, that was completely unexpected for him to release that amount of power to defeat the enemy.

But to make sure that she won't wake up for quite sometime, he used his traquilizer darts and struck her with it. he kicked the gun away from Artemis.

_But I wonder… Who did she hit with the bullet if she didn't manage to hit Echizen-kun?_ That was the question that has entered his mind just about now. But before he could make a step away from that place, his detective badge beeped.

He turned it on. "Hello?"

"Edogawa-kun, where are you?" That was Haibara's voice.

"I'm at the rooftop of the building approximately 300 yards across the campus. I was checking something up here because Rin spotted something here from the school grounds. It turns out to be a sniper—"

"A sniper who was about to kill Echizen-kun, wasn't it?" Haibara finished Conan's sentence. He was surprised to hear that from her.

"How did you know that?" he inquired out of curiosity and worry. But then he remembered something that Artemis had said a while back.

"_I was supposed to kill that tennis brat, Echizen Ryoma. But unfortunately, I've hit the wrong target…"_

With that realization, his eyes widened. "Haibara, tell me who was the one hit by Artemis' bullet. She said a while ago that she had hit the wrong target instead of Echizen-kun. I need you to tell me who."

That time, he heard Haibara's heavy sigh. It took her a while to finally speak again. This time, she did so in a sad tone.

"Do you really want to know that?" she asked silently.

Conan was getting impatient already. She was making him really infuriated in each second that she wasn't telling him the truth that he needed to know. He heaved a sigh.

"I need to know who was shot by Artemis instead of Echizen-kun. So hurry up and tell me now, Haibara."

But because of his impatience, he didn't quite heard what Haibara had said in reply. That was why he had to ask her again, only to felt stunned at what he learned.

"The one that Artemis had shot happened to be… Shinomiya-san…" Haibara said, almost whispering.

"That can't be…" Conan could only say.

**-x-x-**

_**Back at Seishun Gakuen school grounds…**_

Ryoma tried to get up from the ground after Kourin pushed him hard, making him lose his balance and fall to the ground. Even though the way he fell had definitely hurt him, he has to get up to know why the girl pushed him. But before he could comeup with any conclusion, he was quite sure that he had heard a faint gunshot from afar followed by several people calling out Kourin's name.

That memory made him realized something.

He got up and looked around. But then one particular scene shocked him. He didn't like what he saw one bit.

Kourin's body was lying limp on the ground, with blood pools around her, as if she was already dead. But then he saw that she tried to move her hand, so he figured out that she wasn't. At that instant, it came to him that the reason why Kourin pushed him was because she somehow knew that he was going to be shot.

He immediately approached Kourin and tried to wake her up out of fear that once she wouldn't open her eyes anymore, she would die eventually. He didn't want that to happen. Not now, not ever!

But then he suddenly asked himself. _ Why in the world am I being protective to this girl?_

It took him a while to finally come up with an answer to his own question. Before he had that, he cradled the injured girl in his arms, not minding the wet and warm blood that had stained his hand and his pants when he kneeled down and cradled her.

As for the others, all they could do was to stare at the two with shock and disbelief written all over their faces. More particularly, the Akira sisters, Doctor Yanai, the Detective Boys, Momoshiro and Fuji.

"Echizen…" Momoshiro could only mutter but for some reasons, he couldn't approach his kouhai looking and cradling the injured Kourin.

While the Dark Rose members laughed insanely and grinned evily as they've witnessed how Artemis had taken down the surviving member of the Shinomiya family with their infamous bullet. But they were still pinned down to the ground by their enemies—the other members of the Miyuzaki clan who was stunned about what they had just witnessed. But even so, they had to focus on preventing the enemy from doing anything more… obviously sinister.

"Rin…" Ryoma called out the girl's name as he tried to wake her up. "Oi, Rin! Wake up! You can't close your eyes right now!" And then suddenly, tears streaked down his face as he continued to try convincing her to open her eyes. "You can't close you eyes yet, Rin… Not yet… You can't die yet and leave us here! It's not yet over…"

"Hmm…" Kourin made a sound. Slowly, she opened her eyes. But she could only do it barely as the pain from being shot was beginning to overwhelm her.

Even though she was weary, she tried to show Ryoma a smile to at least stop him fromcryig. Honestly, she was definitely surprised to see him crying like that. All she knew was that the people close to her and has a tight connection to her and her family would react like that as if she was dying and would eventually die.

In a particular case, only the Kudou family and the Miyuzaki clan would cry for her.

It was unexpected for her to see Ryoma cry like that because she was hurt. And then she could not help but to ask herself. _Has Ryoma-niichan became totally attached to me that he would unexpectedly cry like that because I was shot? Even though I only met him because of an incident a week ago, he would actually cry seeing I was hurt…_

It was definitely hard for her to believe that. Looking at Ryoma like that, she could not help but remember her older brother Hitoshi who happened to have a resemblance to Ryoma—making the color of the hair and eyes the only difference of the two.

"I'm glad… you're safe… Ryoma-niichan…" Kourin managed to say with a smile even though the pain she was bearing because of the wound was evidents on her face.

Ryoma clenched his fist, still crying as he listened to the young girl's words. He could't believe that she would prefer his safety rather than her own life.

And then he asked the girl a question. "Why are you protecting me like this?"

But Kourin only smiled at him, as if she wasn't hurt at all. Looking at this made him cry even more.

"I'm really sorry.. that I put you through this. I never thought… you would be involved in this…" And then she tried to touch her wound slowly. "But I guess… this incident… had a better outcome, at the very least."

Ryoma frowned at this. "What do you mean?"

"I would never meet you if this incident never happened at all… I was desperately trying to protect you… because I see you as someone who was important to me. I don't want you.. to suffer the same pain he had… just before he died for my sake…"

He never thought the young girl would protect him up to this extent, just for him not to suffer.

"Rin…"

"I'm really sorry… Ryoma-niichan… I'm really… really… sorry… that I let you… face this… kind of danger…" And after that, Kourin closed her eyes.

Completely.

Ryoma stared at her with wide eyes, completely stunned.

**-x-x-**

**You know, at first, I was thinking of having Ryoma get shot by the sniper. But I don't want him to suffer from more gunshots any longer since he was already shot during the first chapter. I don't want to be called cruel because of that. Hehe!**

**That's it for Chapter 14. Please read and review, even though there are only few who do that in the crossover section. I need inspiration, people! Reviews do that. :)**


	17. The Ultimate Battle

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own Shinomiya Kourin and the other OC's in this story.

**Warning: **Characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC

**-x-x-**

**Chapter 16: The Ultimate Battle**

"Rin-san…" Ayumi, Genta and MItsuhiko murmured in disbelief as they watched Ryoma holding Kourin. Obviously, all of them were in a state of shock.

The Seigaku Regulars watched those two in disbelief, with only one thought in mind. Was a girl like Kourin deserved this kind of fate just because she was trying her hardest to protect Ryoma?

Out of everything that had happened, Doctor Akira made a decision. She then let Doctor Yanai checked on Kourin's vitals, hoping that after all this, they could still save the injured (not to mention dying) young girl.

The female doctor approached a member of the Miyuzaki clan who was restraining Themis' movements.

"Lia, let her go." Those words made the others surprised, while Shouko could only stare at her sister who suddenly blurted out a decision like that.

But then she noticed her sister's eyes. And she knew that those eyes kept on saying that her decision was final and irreversible.

Lia knew that the doctor (and apparently, the substitute leader of the Shinomiya family due to the decision made by the only surviving elder of the Shinomiya family and the elders of the Miyuzaki clan) was serious of what she had said. Somehow, she was not surprised about her decision at all. The only thing that made her hesitate to follow the doctor's order was the reason for Doctor Akira to decide that. That was why she stared at her with questioning look.

The doctor sighed. "This is where we will finish all of this. We will finish this battle that should have never started."

All of them were stunned when they heard that. So it appeared that she was provoked when a Dark Rose sniper injured Kourin.

But before the others could reply, Doctor Yanai spoke. "If you're going to fight here, you should be careful to avoid casualties. And you have to finish it the soonest time possible."

Haibara approached the doctor. "What do you mean, Yanai-sensei?"

He looked at the girl, as well as the other kids who followed Haibara. "She's still alive because she's fighting. But because of the blood loss, if we won't be able to let her go to the hospital in a span of 24 hours, she'll die for sure. She's still breathing, but her pulse is fainting."

"That can't be…"

When Lia obeyed Doctor Akira's order to let go of Themis, the latter took that opportunity to attack the doctor with a katana on her back. But it was blocked by the katana that Shouko held. Both of the woman were staring hard at each other with full of anger and hate.

"I'm your target, right? So it's me you should attack and don't include my sister on this. This is OUR battle!" Shouko firmly said, still blocking the enemy's sword.

Themis smirked. "Why don't you admit that you're afraid when I was about to attack your dear sister?"

"What did you say?"

"Because you're afraid that your sister will end up like the little princess."

With that, Shouko gritted her teeth and put all of her strength to her sword in order to catch Themis off-guard. With enough force (or maybe even more than enough), she was able to strike Themis' sword hard and throw it away from them with one strike. Then she aimed the blade of her sword to the enemy's neck, threatening to kill her if she move even more.

With eyes full of determination, Shouko looked at Themis. "It's enough that you've done that to destroy Rin-chan's family once and for all. But this time, I'm not going to let you do the same thing to the princess and to my sister—even if it would cost me my life."

"Shouko, remember what Ryuuki-sama had once told you about using a sword," Doctor Akira reminded.

"Ryuuki-sama? Wasn't that the name of Kourin-chan's father, the head of the Shinomiya family?"

"Shinomiya Ryuuki, also known before to the tennis world as the Iron Eagle of the East and considered to be Echizen Nanjiroh's rival. I guess tennis connected Kourin-chan and Echizen in some ways." Tezuka explained nonchalantly as he observed the situation. Even though he wanted so bad to help the dying girl and his kouhai, he couldn't do anything or it might endanger them in every way. He couldn't afford to let his guard down, not at this point. Especially at this point…

"Tennis isn't the only connection that they had. The past really caught up to them and now it's about to destroy them both if we don't do anything to help Echizen and Kourin-chan get out of this trouble," Fuji said in a serious tone that he had been showing for a while now.

"How did you know that? We don't even know what happened in the past that made them face this kind of danger."

"It's not them. It's their parents, particularly their fathers," Inui stated. "Tezuka said so himself. Their fathers were rivals in tennis. But it is also highly possible that those two had been the best of friends before and after they retired suddenly in tennis. Probability of the Echizen family and the Shinomiya family protecting each other's secrets all this time—120 %. There was no doubt on that."

After that, Shouko did remember what her sister was trying to say.

"_Never put your negative emotions onto your weapon, more particularly to your sword. Because when you do, your own weapon will betray you that will let you lose in a battle. Negative emotions have powerful force that would drive you to your own defeat and even to your own death. Let your determination to protect someone with your very own weapon guide your heart so you can successfully do it…"_

When she remembered that, she couldn't help but to smile. "I know that, Onee-chan. And I'm not going to fail Ryuuki-sama."

But then the situation turned to something worse. The rest of the Dark Rose managed to break free from the Miyuzaki clan members who were restricting them earlier. They began to attack the students that the Seigaku regulars all ushered cautiously to enter the school building but the clan wouldn't let them do so. Besides, it was the Miyuzakis that they should attack to begin with, not the innocent students.

When Doctor Yanai took his weapon, which was a revolver since he trained himself in using guns just for his and his fiancée's safety, and helped the others in the battle, the Detective Boys were assigned to take care and protect Kourin even in this state of hers. Even Ryoma helped the kids because somehow, that was the only thing he could do for now.

As for the police, among them were Inspector Megure and the others, they could only stand by and watch the Miyuzaki clan fight. From their positions, they could tell that it would be a fearsome battle that would decide everything about this whole ordeal. Yet somehow, there was something that didn't feel right about all of this.

They were the police and yet, all they could do was to watch it going on. It just didn't feel right..

"Megure-keibu, aren't we suppose to help them?" Detective Satou asked worriedly.

But the portly inspector didn't say anything. The others waited for him to answer Detective Satou's question. Then they heard him sigh.

"Megure-keibu…"

"We'll back them up once it cools down. Right now, only the Miyuzaki clan should finish this battle. We shouldn't get in their way," Inspector Megure calmly said. _That's right. Only those people could finish this battle. This battle made them suffer for a long time. They're the only people who has the ability to defeat them,_ he added in his thoughts. _I hope what you've all fought for until now won't end in vain… Yanai-sensei… Akira-sensei…_

Meanwhile, Ryoma and the Detective Boys (with the exclusion of Conan) guarded the injured Kourin while the others were still fighting. All of them could see that it was surely a tough fight. Both sides were really determined to defeat each other. And watching all of that had made Ryoma did something reckless.

"I have to save my friends!" he suddenly exclaimed that made the kids surprised. He didn't wait for the kids' reply as he already stood up after he carefully put Kourin on the ground. He hurriedly ran to his friends' direction when all of a sudden, Iapetus charged at him with a katana on his hands.

"Ryoma-niichan, watch out!" the kids screamed.

But before Iapetus could lay his sword's blade on the freshman, Ryoma saw a tennis all quickly and powerfully knocked down the katana out of the enemy's hand. Again, the eye-patched man kneeled in pain as it appeared that his wrist were probably crushed already.

Ryoma knew who could do that since he knew only one person who was powerful enough to do that shot. But even still, he couldn't believe the fact that the shot was executed with so much force—more like out of rage or something like that.

"Kawamura-senpai's… Hadoukkyu?" he muttered silently and then looked at the person he mentioned who did that shot.

"I don't know what's really going on or why you want to kill Shinomiya-san and Echizen. But I'll make sure I'm not going to let you lay a finger on my kouhai," Kawamura said in a grave manner even though he was holding his racket that changed his personality like what it always did to him.

The others were amazed at that. And that deed made Haibara remember somethig. She then began to inspect Kourin's bag and took something from it.

It was a tennis racket.

"Tennis racket? Why would Rin-san bring such a thing here, I wonder?" Mitsuhiko contemplated as he looked at the tennis racket.

Haibara sighed. And then she stood up. "I could only tell you one thing—" she paused and then looked at the tennis racket she was holding. "—this is not an ordinary tennis racket."

Though the three kids were baffled with Haibara's words, they never managed to ask her another question when they saw her ran towards Ryoma while holding the racket.

"I wonder what does she means by that…" Ayumi confusingly said to herself.

"Ryoma-san," Haibara called out. The freshman turned when he heard that. When she finally reached the freshman's position, she handed the racket to him. Of course, even though reluctant, he accepted it.

Though puzzled as to why the girl would hand him a tennis racket, she just looked at him sternly. "I'll answer your question later. All I can say to you is that—" she paused. "—what you're holding right now is not an ordinary tennis racket. You can use it to somehow bring down your friends' attackers." Then she pushed a button on the bottom of the handle. Nothing happened, though. "Just use that. Just think that you're playing tennis but this time, with the aim to hurt the ones who had hurt your teammates. I know it's against your moral code to do such a thing but right now, this could be a way for you to save yourself. At the very least, do it for Shinomiya-san's sake."

He didn't exactly know what to do or what to think. Haibara had a point, though. Right now, what mattered to him was to save himself and he needed to do it for Kourin's sake. After all, she was the one who saved his life.

With that, he tried to deliver a serve using that racket that would hurt his opponent, as Haibara stated it. She gave her a tennis ball and with that, he did his iconic Twist Serve. Even though the landing of the ball wasn't exactly calculated, he thought that there was nothing special about the tennis racket.

But then after the ball twisted and hopped, he then noticed that the power used to strike was powerful enough to hurt one of the Dark Rose members who was about to attack the Seigaku regulars eve though they were just away from Ryoma and standing at the entrance of the building.

And what was even more surprising, the serve rendered the enemy unconscious when the ball hit the bone of the nape, specifically the upper part of the spinal cord even though Ryoma only put the normal amount of power in that serve.

Ryoma looked at the sady brown-haired scientist confusingly. She just gave a faint smile, though. "I guess now you know the reason why it isn't an ordinary tennis racket."

"But what exactly does this tennis racket have that you would range it as out of the ordinary? And where did you get this, anyway?" Ryoma asked as he looked at the tennis racket on his hand.

He knew the answer to his own question somewhat since he felt something when he used that racket. It was as if the racket had given him additional power to his shots even though he only put a normal amount of power to the tennis ball.

But before Haibara could answer his question, she saw the man with a big X-shaped scar on his face—codenamed Crius—was about to shoot Ryoma with a pistol. With that, she immediately took something from her pocket. When the shot was fired, Haibara held out a cylindrical item in front of her and in a flash, a light blue umbrella-like shield had spread out in front of the girl. It was just in time to stop several bullets fired from hitting Ryoma before a one-on-one combat ensued between Doctor Yanai and Crius.

The freshman, however, could only look at Haibara in surprise. While the others, even the Miyuzaki clan members fighting and the other Dark Rose were surprised at what they had witnessed, as well.

"What was that?" Ayumi asked, most likely to herself.

"_Bubble Shield_ **(a)**… Though the name is said as bubble, I've only launched a half-bubble just to block the bullet. But I'm surprised…" Haibara said with a faint smile and pushed a button on the cylindrical item. With that, the shield was gone. "Even though Hakase and Shinomiya-san said that it's still on its experimental stage, it actually worked well."

"Shinomiya? You mean Rin, right?" Haibara nodded. "Then that means this tennis racket…"

"…also belongs to her. It's called _Power-Enhancing Tennis Racket_ **(b). **That racket, when used, stimulates your arm muscles that allow you to hit objects with tremendous power. It could release an output power up to 30 times stronger than the technique used by your senpai earlier. That output power is already enough to break or put a hole to a 2-3 feet thick wall combined with your own internal power."

"Eh?! Thirty times?"

She nodded and looked at him. "But the power you used just now was only 3 times stronger. And let me remind you, you have to be careful with that. That device is still in its experimental stage. The data recorded by that tennis racket is quite essential to create another one that is much functional."

She turned around to go to the three kids who were still beside Kourin's injured body, only to be surprised when she saw Crius charged directly at them.

"Yoshida-san!" Haibara called out. But before she could move any further, she saw a soccer ball came flying from out of nowhere and towards the man, therefore knocking him out when the ball struck his face. They knew where that ball came from.

The kids screamed Conan's name in delight and relief. But the bespectacled little detective didn't mind it as he rushed to the other kids' place and there, he saw his injured and dying cousin. He gritted his teeth at the heart-wrenching sight.

The battle continued. They noticed that only the Dark Rose members were severely injured, while the Miyuzaki clan members only had scratches and grazes. The latter seemed to have figured out the enemies' moves, that was why they managed to avoid fatal attacks.

The kids couldn't watch it longer because of fear. Haibara used the Bubble Shield again to protect themselves while guarding Kourin whose pulse was fainting even more. This time, Haibara launched a full bubble.

The police were standing by because of fear that they might die in an instant once they recklessly decided to help the Miyuzaki clan in that fearsome battle. In addition to that, it was also Inspector Megure's strict order to them. Satou and Takagi were in charged of getting Artemis on the building as Conan had asked to them.

Ryoma, on the other hand, was caught off-guard when the man he had struck down a while ago with a tennis all using Kourin's tennis racket was about to attack him. He accidentally (most likely out of fear) pushed a certain button on the handle of that racket. All of a sudden, the tennis racket launched the net and pinned the man down to the ground. The net then reconstructed itself after that. Now he was completely convinced that the rackethe was holding wasn't ordinary.

It was a long and hard battle. When it was finally over, the Miyuzaki clan members emerged victorious as they had already caused severe injuries to the Dark Rose memers, making them unable to fight any longer. The police then captured the culprits and though the other students were scared, they were relieved that the nightmare was over.

But to those people who had most likely became friends with Kourin, it wasn't over yet. Especially when they knew that a certain 9-year-old girl risked herlife to save them and more particularly, the freshman she had saved a week ago.

Kourin was already breathing dangerously faint and her pulse could barely be felt. It was evident that she was struggling hard to survive as she stood on the line between life and death.

The ambulance entered the school grounds soon after and treated those who were injured. As for the police, they began taking the witnesses' statements, particularly the Seigaku regulars as a procedure for the investigation. For them, the case was already over.

But the case wasn't yet closed to a certain young detective who was looking at his cousin's injured body being carried and placed on a stretcher to be rushed to the hospital. He couldn't help but to clench his fists at his side because of the sight.

_Don't die on us, Rin. You have to live._

**-x-x-**

_**Note: **_

_**a… The "Bubble Shield" was Kourin, Haibara, and Professor Agasa's collaborated inventions. Like what Haibara said, the user of that can launch either a half-bubble or a full bubble shield depending on what is needed in the situation. The shield can stretch to as wide as 10-meter radius, though, that's why Haibara also stated that it's still on its experimental stage. When in its standby mode, it's hidden in a cylinder big enough to be placed in a pocket.**_

_**b… The "Power-Enhancing Tennis Racket" was another of Kourin, Haibara, and Professor Agasa's collaborated inventions in which its construction was loosely based on Conan's power-enhancing kick shoes. It uses **__**electricity and magnetic fields to stimulate Kourin's arm muscles allowing her to hit objects with tremendous power. **__**Besides being a power enhancer, it was also capable of throwing net in capturing the enemy. Like what Haibara had stated, it was still on its experimental stage and the data recorded in the microchip inside of it was quite essential to create a more functional and convenient one.**_

**-x-x-**

**That's it for Chapter 16. Sorry for the late update. That's all I have to say about this one. Please read and review, even though there are only few who do that in the crossover section. I need inspiration, people! Reviews do that. :)**


	18. Saving A Dying Girl's Life

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own ShinomiyaKourin and the other OC's in this story.

**Warning: **Characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC

**-x-x-**

**Chapter 17: Saving A Dying Girl's Life**

_**At Beika Central Hospital, 1:26 pm…**_

The ambulance arrived at the hospital faster in order to rush the injured girl (specifically dying) nine-year-old girl named ShinomiyaKourin into the emergency room. Doctor Akira and Doctor Yanai had themselves taken charge of saving the girl's life. Their statements with regards to the incident would be taken later, as they had requested to Inspector Megure.

The Seigaku regulars, the Detective Boys, and Shouko followed them but they stayed at the waiting area until one of the doctors that examined Kourin came out. And after a while, Doctor Akira came out.

"Onee-chan, how is she?" Shouko worriedly asked. From the looks of it, everyone was worried about Kourin, as well.

The female doctor sighed first before she answered her sister's question. "We've just infused her with plasma a while ago. But she could possibly die from severe blood loss if we couldn't find someone who would donate a type B negative blood in less than 24 hours. And I don't think that the plasma would give us a longer time to find the person that would donate the right blood type to save her."

All of them could stare at the doctor in disbelief because of what she said.

"But do you think that she would still want to fight for her life even if we did find the right blood type to be transfused to her?" Haibara asked placidly, looking directly at the doctor.

Doctor Akira only smiled faintly, though. "You might not want to believe what I'm about to tell you. That bullet that was supposed to kill Echizen-kun is enough already for a girl like Rin-chan to be killed in an instant. If it wasn't for her rollerblade slowing down the bullet's impact, she would've been dead already. Though she was hit in the chest and that bullet almost pierced her heart, do you think it's possible for her to bear that tormenting pain for more than three hours if she's not fighting for her own life? Somehow, there's something that drives her to continue fighting, not just for herself but also for those she now considers important to her." Then she gave a glance at a certain freshman who was looking at her anxiously at that moment.

"Is the blood bank out of the blood type needed for Rin?" Conan asked.

Doctor Akira nodded sadly. "Unfortunately, that's the case right now. That's why I'm going to ask you if you could possibly have someone to provide the blood type that Rin-chan needed if you happened to know someone with that kind of blood type."

The regulars only glanced at each other, hoping that one of them might be Kourin's savior. Conan could only grit his teeth and clench his fist because of his inability to do anything for his cousin. He happened to have the same blood type as Ran and Kourin but his current situation right now (being a seven-year-old kid instead of his normal 17-year-old self) made him unable to provide some help for the girl he was supposed to protect and take care of. But before Conan could say anything about it, someone suddenly spoke that surprised them.

"Then use my blood to save her instead," a voice suddenly said. And when they turned to look at the person who said that,Shouko, Conan and particularly, Ryoma were surprised to see who it was. "Take as much blood needed to save Kourin-chan's life that saved my cousin."

"N-Nanako-san… how—"

"Megure-keibu told us all that had happened at the school. Oba-sama and I rushed here to know that girl's condition since Kourin-chan was hurt when she saved Ryoma-san. After all, she was the one who took the bullet meant to kill my cousin, right? I don't want her to die like that, especially when Shouko-san told me that she was determined to protect that child with her life since she is an important member of the Shinomiya clan—and an important family princess, at that. Ryoma-san was determined to do so, as well. This is the least I can do for her and also, as a way of thanking that child for saving my cousin's life twice," Nanako said as tears began to blur her vision. Rinko accompanied her.

Shouko approached her research partner. "Nanako-chan, are you sure about this?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm sure about this, Shouko-san. I don't want you to do this alone for that child. You wouldn't do this kind of risky job if she's not that important to you at all. She wasn't just a princess that you have to serve with pride and honor. She's also your friend. And now I can see all that. Now I understand you better than ever because of this incident. I overheard that she needs type B negative blood. It so happens that I have the same blood type as her. Please, just use it to save Kourin-chan."

They couldn't see any hesitation in Nanako's eyes. Doctor Akira sighed and smiled faintly. "Then I guess we should hurry."

Although most of them were surprised, they've just agreed to it. Nanako and Doctor Akira already went ahead inside a certain room and Rinko then approached Shouko. But then Rinko noticed Ryoma's clothes.

"Ryoma, whose clothes was that you're wearing?"

The others noticed it, as well, as soon as the freshman's mother asked that question. But Ryoma didn't have to answer because Shouko answered the question for him.

"Those clothes actually belonged to Rin-chan's older brother, Hitoshi-sama. Echizen-kun and Hitoshi-sama happened to have the same physique even though the latter was just a few years older than you, Echizen-kun. Hitoshi-sama was actually about the same age as your buchou."

Unfortunately, the freshman rookie didn't seem to hear what Shouko said. It appeared that he was still in a mild shock. She understood that, somehow. That was the time when she glanced at Conan and smiled at him knowingly. The bespectacled boy seemed to have immediately understood what she wanted, so Conan approached Ryoma and asked something.

"Are you all right, Ryoma-niichan?" he asked in a child-like tone. "Are you still in shock about what happened a while ago?"

"Conan-kun, I think that's the dumbest question you could have asked to him," Mitsuhiko suddenly stated. Genta agreed and Conan could've given those two boys a deadly glare but chose not to. "I mean, who wouldn't be shocked with that kind of scenario that actually happened in front of our eyes?"

But the bespectacled boy didn't mind as he was patiently waiting for Ryoma to answer his question. Conan and Shouko knew in a way that the freshman was thinking deeply about something. Soon after, Ryoma shook his head and then faced the little detective.

"I was just thinking about what Rin had said to me before she lost consciousness in my arms because of the gunshot."

"What about it? And what did she say?" Conan immediately asked. _I think it's time that you should know everything about Rin, Echizen-kun. You deserve to know them after all that had happened, anyway._

Ryoma sighed. "She said that she was desperately trying to protect me because she saw me as someone who was important to her and she doesn't want me to suffer just like that person. I was thinking who might be that person she was talking about."

Conan smiled at him that had made the others wondered why the boy was smiling. The little detective took something from his pocket and gave it to Ryoma. The latter, in turn, accepted it and had a look at it.

They were pictures. Three pictures, to be exact. But what Ryoma saw had definitely gave him one hell of a shock that made Shouko giggle and the others became skeptical as to what had made Ryoma have that kind of reaction. When they all looked at the pictures that Ryoma was holding on to, that was when they finally realized the answer since they were shocked as well. Shell-shocked should have been the perfect word to describe that, though. Even the normally stoic tennis captain Tezuka was shocked and he didn't even bother hiding it.

"Is this for real?" Momoshiro could only ask in shock.

"Nya! Ochibi has a doppelganger."

"Are you sure you're the only child, Echizen?"

"It's really the spitting image…"

"Maybe you have a twin you didn't know of."

"It's not… me, isn't it?" Ryoma asked the boy before looking at Shouko.

The two shook their heads in response.

"No, it's not. And besides, that person in the picture that looked a lot like you is already 14 years old when he was killed. That person, in reality, was actually Rin's older brother, Shinomiya Hitoshi. He was killed along with Ryuuki-ojisan and Rina-obasan that night a year ago while protecting Rin," Conan stated and then put his hands in his pockets. "I was surprised, as well, when I found out that you and Hitoshi almost looked alike. Only the color of the hair and the eyes were the only differences that you two have. He was also a tennis player like you, already close to becoming a professional tennis player if he wasn't killed that night," he added.

Then Ryoma carefully scanned each of the photos. The first photo was a family picture, comprising of Ryuuki, Rina, Hitoshi and Kourin sitting under the sakura tree. That picture was concluded to have been taken in Japan, somewhere in Kanagawa, when he saw the background. It was the building of Rikkaidai's University Hospital. Ryoma could only smile sadly as he pinned his focus at the smiling Kourin on the photo.

The smile he saw in that photo was completely different from the smile that he first saw from Kourin when he first met her. _I wonder if I could be able to see her smile like that personally… even just for once,_ he thought. He sighed.

The second photo was a solo picture of Shinomiya Hitoshi. They really looked alike, and Ryoma could never doubt that fact now. Not anymore. The photo appeared to have been taken after a tennis match. Then he asked a question to Conan.

"When was this taken?" Ryoma then showed the photo to Conan.

"Ah… that was taken after the preliminaries at the US Open. Ryuuki-ojisan probably took that photo since he was there, as well."

Ryoma slightly nodded after the boy answered. After that, he scanned the third photo. It was a picture of Kourin and Hitoshi—both were smiling happily. He really wanted to look at the photos in which Kourin was smiling happily with no care about the dangers at all—like a normal kid. And he couldn't believe that only a single night took away that smile completely.

That girl… That girl who saved his life twice really considered him as someone important, or to be specific, as a part of her family. Now, he had never thought that he would be attached to Kourin for only a short time. She became special to him. And at the moment he thought of that, he cried.

"Echizen…" Momoshiro could only say to his crying kouhai and he tried to calm him down.

But Ryoma didn't stop. He didn't care if he looked like an idiot in front of his senpai-tachi for doing that. He continuously cried because he couldn't stop his tears from falling.

Fuji approached Ryoma and also tried to calm him down. When the freshman looked at Fuji, he saw that reassuring smile he was giving him, just like the smiles that his teammates were giving him.

"Don't worry, Echizen. Kourin-chan is a strong girl. I know she can survive this. We'll just have to pray that the operation will be successful," Fuji said encouragingly.

The others agreed to that and their reassuring smiles never left their faces—or at least, it was for Ryoma to see.

That's right.

All they have to do was to pray that everything would be alright.

All they have to do was to pray…

…hope…

…and wait…

_Please… help Rin to survive through this…_

**-x-x-**

_**Inside the emergency room…**_

The doctors all seemed to be in frantic as they tried to save Kourin. The girl's heartbeat was starting to slow down drastically but all of them were doing their best they could to make sure that the surgery would be successful.

Even if they were doing it desperately, Doctor Akira and Doctor Yanai were trying to make the girl's heartbeat normal so that they could stitch the wound. They've already removed the bullet in her chest that was half inch close to pierce her heart. The blood that Nanako donated really provided them a lot of help.

All of them were in a frantic move to make her live.

_Rin-chan, you can do it. Fight so you can still live. Don't let us down. Your family would be angry for sure if you go…_

**-x-x-**

_**Kourin's POV**_

I began to open my eyes. When I woke up, I saw myself in a dark place. I tried to look around but all I could see was vast darkness—an endless darkness, to be exact. I tried to call names but it would appear that I was the only person there.

The place was scary, to be honest. And I don't want to wonder around in that kind of darkness. So I just sat there and think. I tried to remember what happened to me to find myself waking up in this place.

I tried long and hard to remember exactly everything. Then I opened my eyes subconsciously. I was surprised to find myself in a vast ocean of shimmering stars. And also, I could see my own body.

At that part, everything came rushing into my mind, even the reason why I ended up here. I guess I was dead, huh? It was because I remembered that I took the bullet meant to kill Ryoma-niichan during the assault at Seishun Gakuen. I only thought of one thing during that time…

I said that I wasn't going to let Ryoma-niichan suffer and die just like Onii-sama.

So I guess this was the consequence of being so reckless because of protecting him just for him not to end up like my brother.

After musing for a moment, I saw myself being drawn into a beautiful garden in the middle of the vast space. But then I stopped when I heard voices calling me coming from the bright light just to the opposite side of that garden.

And all of a sudden, I heard someone called me, by my name.

I turned around, and what I saw really gave me one hell of a shock.

_**End of Kourin's POV**_

"Rin…"

"Mama?" Kourin asked quietly when she saw the image of her mother—or maybe it was really her mother calling her. She saw the woman smiled. That alone was enough to convince her that the person in front of her was really her mother even though she knew that it was just Shinomiya Rina's image.

Kourin wanted to approach her, but for some reason, she couldn't move her feet. She tried so hard to move them but to no avail. She glanced at her mother desperately and looked and looked at her pleadingly and confusingly. She only saw her mother sadly smiled at her.

"But why?" she couldn't help asking that to Rina.

"It's better this way, my child. Please just bear with it," a voice said calmly.

When the young girl looked around, she saw a glowing figure just beside her mother. A few moments later, she saw her father and the previous head of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Ryuuki, standing beside Rina, also smiling sadly after the glow faded.

"Papa…"

Another glowing figure appeared, and this time, it was beside her. She turned around just before the glow faded. She wasn't surprised when she saw a teenage boy just a little older and somewhat resembled Ryoma, her brother and supposed heir to the position of being the head of not only the Shinomiya family but also of the four families, Shinomiya Hitoshi.

"Onii-sama…" she muttered. "Why did you all appear before me all of a sudden?"

Hitoshi smiled. "That's because we're the only people who could convince you to go back. After all, you shouldn't even be here in the first place."

"Go back…? You mean—"

Ryuuki nodded. "That's right. You're still alive back there. You're still fighting for your life and Shouda-chan is currently desperate to make you live."

Kourin fell silent. Then she looked at her family standing in front of her. "But Papa—"

"Please don't say that you don't want to go back. Many people want you to live. And that include us, as well," Rina said. "I know that we're the ones who couldn't fulfill our promise to you that we'll always be together and we're really sorry for that."

She saw Rina's sad face. No doubt it was her mother. Her mother knew exactly what she was thinking that made her hesitate to go back.

"Rin, we're really sorry that we couldn't protect you now," Ryuuki said. "But try to understand that we risked our lives to protect you that night because we believe in you. We know that we made you sad because of that. But that's the only way we know to save you."

"Your father's right, Rin," Rina agreed.

But she didn't say anything. She just looked at them and it surprised the others to see the girl's tears fell.

"Rin…"

It startled the girl and then she began wiping her tears. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying like this."

Then her parents looked at her with worries.

"I tried so hard… I really tried…" With that, she burst into crying. "But I couldn't. I couldn't overcome the sadness that had stayed here in my heart ever since you all left me."

Hitoshi sighed and approached her.

"I felt so useless when I couldn't protect my family that night—much more when I couldn't protect my friends during that attack at Seigaku…" Then she sniffled.

"But you've done that to your best, Rin," Hitoshi said encouragingly. "We're so proud of you when you protected your friends even though it was a reckless and dangerous thing to do because your enemy was the Dark Rose. Echizen-kun finally understood the reason why you protected him when you took the bullet meant to kill him so that you can save him."

She was surprised to hear that and it made her face her brother. "Ryoma-niichan did?"

Rina nodded.

"He still blames himself, though. That's why you have to go back so that you can tell him that he has nothing to feel guilty about. You just wanted to save him from suffering the same fate as us."

Kourin then thought about it intently before she finally came up with a decision. With that, she stared at them. "But if I go back, will I be able to see you again?"

The three people looked at each other and afterwards, smiled at her.

"You'll always see us, though you might not be able to talk to us like what you're doing now. You still have your memories about us. Just look inside your heart and you'll know that you can," Rina answered her daughter's question with sincerity.

"We'll always be watching over you, Rin. We'll see each other again someday," Ryuuki then added and smiled.

"But before that time comes, you have to live your life to the fullest—with all the people you care about and now consider as a family." After saying that, Hitoshi hugged her.

Kourin, though she thought it was weird, felt her brother's warmth. It was just like before, when he was still alive. And she smiled at that memory. After that, she looked at them again. This time, she was smiling. It was a smile that she always showed when her family was still alive.

"Then… see you… Mama, Papa, Onii-sama… I'll be going back—"

Her parents and her brother just stared and smiled at her with happiness evident in their eyes.

"—to my new family." Then she waved goodbye to them and turned.

With that, she started running towards the bright light just the opposite of that beautiful garden she saw earlier.

She wanted to go back… to the place where she belonged…

…to the people she loved…

_This is my choice… And I know I will never regret it. Thank you so much… Mama… Papa… Onii-sama…_ She smiled at that thought. _Everyone, I'm going back. So… wait for me, okay?_

And then she entered the light.

**-x-x-**

_**Four hours later…**_

All of them stood up when they saw Doctor Akira approaching towards them. She had a serious look on her face, though, despite the obvious tiredness on it. That was why they couldn't help but feel nervous. Conan and Haibara only showed a nonchalant look, the other kids were pretty much worried and so were the regulars.

Ryoma and Shouko, on the other hand, could only stare at the approaching doctor.

All of them were holding their breaths as they anticipated for the doctor to announce the result of the operation. They were all hoping, of course, that it would be a good one.

"Onee-chan, how did it go? Will she be okay?" Shouko asked her sister.

The doctor only sighed and it took a few more moments before she answered, looking at Shouko.

"It's a success, that's why you don't have to worry anymore. She made it through," Doctor Akira announced with a smile.

Having that said made all of them sighed in relief. Most of them were cheering.

The doctor approached Nanako and gave a bow of gratitude to the young woman. "Thank you… from the bottom of my heart. The blood you gave to her really helped a lot. As her guardian, I thank you. I thought it would really be hopeless until you came."

Nanako smiled at her. "You don't have to. That kid really deserves to live. And besides, this is my way of thanking all of you—you and the other Miyuzaki family members—for protecting our family like this. I wanted this to be a way of thanking Kourin-chan for saving Ryoma-san's life twice. What I did is not enough for me to do that. I wanted to thank her personally, and I know, so do Oba-sama and Oji-sama. We really owe that little girl a lot." And then she peered at the now smiling Ryoma. "I wouldn't see my cousin smiling like this if it wasn't for her."

Doctor Akira smiled at the sight, as well, especially when she saw that all of the kids and the Seigaku Regulars were really happy about the good news. "I agree."

_You never wanted to fail, do you, Rin-chan? _The doctor thought amusingly.

_I guess now I could consider this case as closed—finally. Now you don't have to worry about anything anymore. Right, Rin?_ A certain bespectacled seven-year-old boy happily thought as he was looking at the others, all feeling relieved and happy.

At last, the storm was over. The darkest night had finally ended, and fear was vanished. Now all they have to do was to wait…

…for Kourin to return.

**-x-x-**

**That's it for Chapter 14. Please read and review, even though there are only few who do that in the crossover section. I need inspiration, people! Reviews do that to me, at the very least. :)**


	19. Return Of The Lost Spirit

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own Shinomiya Kourin and the other OC's in this story.

**Warning: **Characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC

**-x-x-**

**Chapter 18: Return Of A Lost Spirit**

_**Three days later, Beika Central Hospital…**_

Kudou Yuusaku and Kudou Yukiko walked towards the hospital room number 2612 to check out on Kourin. For the past three days, since Doctor Akira had declared the operation as a success, they kept on convincing Conan to at least go home and have some rest. He happened to take care of Kourin ever since they transferred her to that room to wait for her to wake up.

But the boy didn't want to. He already missed today's school because of that decision.

He told Kobayashi-sensei that he would take care of Kourin until she woke up and the teacher somehow understood that. She told the boy that he should inform her and Kourin's teacher once the girl woke up from her slumber and Conan agreed.

When the couple opened the door, they saw Conan sleeping on the sofa, along with Ran. They couldn't help but to sadly smile at this sight. It would appear that Ran also missed her classes because she insisted that she wanted to help Conan in taking care of Kourin.

The boy woke up as soon as the door closed. Conan noticed his parents approaching him when he opened his eyes. That was why he sat up and waited for them.

"How is she, Shin-chan?" Yukiko asked, mentioning about Kourin.

The boy sadly shook his head. "Her vitals are fine and stable but unfortunately, she hadn't woken up yet. Akira-sensei came here to check her up few hours ago."

"Is that so?"

The couple went to Kourin's bed and looked at the sleeping girl. Conan soon followed them and he sat on the bed to have a good look at his cousin.

But before Conan could say something, they heard Ran sst up.

"I'm sorry. I overslept. Did something happen?" Ran suddenly said and then went near them.

Yukiko smiled at the sight of her slightly panicking "daughter-in-law". Conan could only watch her in amusement. "No, nothing happened. We just want to check out Rin-chan's condition, that's why we came here."

"Is that so?" Ran sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." Then she thought of something. "Maybe I should buy Conan-kun something to eat at the cafeteria. He hasn't eaten dinner last night so I'm sure he's hungry. I'll be going, then." Ran started walking towards the door.

"Wait, Ran-chan," Yukiko suddenly said, stopping the girl from completely walking out. Ran turned as she noticed Yuusaku approaching her.

"Is something wrong?" she innocently asked.

Yuusaku shook his head and then smiled. "Maybe you should eat first at the cafeteria before you go back here. You see, we have something to tell to Conan-kun and it's kind of private. It will take just a few minutes. Will it be okay?"

Though Ran had no idea how important was that "something" that the couple were going to tell to Conan, she understood. Yuusaku also asked her to buy some things needed just in case Kourin finally woke up. After that, Ran left. When Conan looked at his parents, he saw their serious faces staring at him.

"What's the serious face, Okaa-san, Otou-san?" he curiously asked. He saw Yukiko's face turned sad from being serious. And that made him feel even curious than he ever was a while back.

"We're really sorry about this, Shin-chan. If we should have told you the truth much earlier, then I guess none of this would've happen."

Conan sighed. "It's already inevitable, Okaa-san. Even if you did tell me that earlier, they wouldn't stop until they finally eradicated Rin and her family once and for all." Then she glanced at the still unconscious Kourin. "What I can't understand is why you didn't tell me everything that had happened to her. You know me. I can keep secrets, especially the important ones that's needed to be kept."

"That's because Rin-chan already knew the predicament you're currently dealing with, so she said to us that she doesn't want to have you involve in her fears and problems. Especially when we found out one specific piece of information that made her decide not to tell you the whole truth," Yuusaku gravely stated.

The boy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Are you sure you want to know that?"

But all that Conan did at that time was to stare unwaveringly at his father after that question was asked. And then Yuusaku nodded.

"Then…" Yuusaku glanced at his wife; he saw her give him a nod as a signal. Then he looked at Conan again. "This is what we've found out two weeks after she went here to Japan. The Dark Rose Agency has to be working in coordination with some higher organization that has a dark agenda as they are. And after further investigation and analysis on the situation, we found out that the Dark Rose appeared to be an underling of the Black Organization—the very same organization that you're after in order for you to destroy once and for all."

The boy froze in shock. "T-the Black Organization?"

"When we told Rin-chan that the Black Organization were after you and Haibara-chan, your cousin decided not to tell you that part so you just have to worry about your own problem."

"That's not the case, Otou-san! What if one of the members of the Dark Rose Agency knows about me and Haibara? Then it's not just me but—"

"That's not possible," Yukiko suddenly said, stopping Conan from blurting more of his thoughts. "Even though the Dark Rose is an underling of the Black Organization, they only focus on their agenda and nothing else. They only implement and follow selected—not to mention, few—orders from the boss of the organization."

With that, the boy detective gave up. He glanced at Kourin. "She's really strong, huh?" he commented.

"What made you say that, Shin-chan?"

"She was able to bear all of this by herself. She managed to endure all the sorrow and the pain that she had been through after that tragic night. And she's just an 8-year-old child at that time. All of those tormenting emotions that could drive someone insane…" Conan sadly smiled and held Kourin's cold hand soon after. "I never thought you're this strong, Rin."

"But she doesn't realized that one, though." They saw Doctor Akira entered the room.

"Akira-sensei…"

Conan saw the doctor smiled. "I know that she will realiz how strong she is—one day. But she's not as strong as you think. Every night, since Ryuuki-sama, Rina-sama and Hitoshi-sama died, her tears never stopped falling. She constantly blamed herself for not having the ability to protect those people important to her. But I think she managed to overcome that."

The bespectacled boy smiled. "You're right. And I know that we have to thank Echizen-kun for that."

Yukiko was about to say something to Doctor Akira when they heard someone made a sound. And they were surprised to see who it was.

**-x-x-**

_**Teitan Elementary School…**_

It was the free period of Class 1-B but somehow, the Detective Boys (minus Conan, of course) couldn't seem to enjoy it. They only gathered together in one place of that classroom and talked about something.

"I'm really worried about Rin-san. Do you really think she's alright? She hasn't woken up for three days straight," Ayumi said in a worried tone.

"She probably grew tired when she endured the pain she was feeling because of the gunshot for more than 3 hours straight. I think the effect of the chemical from the invented bullet of the Dark Rose must have gotten to her. So I guess it's a normal result for her to sleep that long," Haibara stated placidly. But it was undeniable that she was also worried about Kourin's condition. She just didn't want to show it.

"But Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei injected some antidote inside of her, didn't they? So when she wakes up, she could move herself already, right?" Mitsuhiko speculated and Genta seconded that. Even Ayumi did the same thing.

But Haibara only remained stoic. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"But you know, I'm also worried about Cona-kun. For three days straight, as well, he took care of Rin-san even though there's Agasa-hakase who could do it. There's even Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei, to add it."

"Hakase is a busy person. So were Akira-sensei and Yanai-sensei. Even if they do have time, they couldn't fully take care of Shinomiya-san like what Edogawa-kun does," Haibara said in counter to what Ayumi said.

"What about Shouko-san?" Genta suddenly asked.

Haibara only sighed. "Shouko-san is helping the police with regards to what happened at Seishun Gakuen. Most likely, the police asked for her expertise with regards to the case about the Dark Rose since she is one of the most capable undercover agents of the Shinomiya family and of the Miyuzaki family."

"Is that so?"

Then Ayumi faced Haibara. "Then Ai-chan, can I ask you a question?"

"About what?"

"What do you think of Rin-san now after all that commotion?"

Haibara had to admit, she was surprised at the girl's question. It seemed that the two boys were waiting for her answer, too, if she was going to base it on how they looked at her in anticipation.

_Now that you mention it, I never even thought about that. What do I think about Shinomiya-san?_ When she finally realized it, she sighed. Then she faced the other kids.

"I really think of her as someone strong, because she kept all of her worries, fears, sorrows, and pain from us so that we wouldn't be involved in her problems. In the end, she managed to fight back and face her past, the enemies that caused her so much sufferings. If it is someone else, those things would probably…" Haibara shook her head slightly. "No… those things would undoubtedly lose their sanity. Even adults have problems dealing with a situation similar to what Shinomiya-san had gone through. And when I saw her protect her friends, even if it means endangering her own life, I was amazed when she faced the enemies with her head held up high—without the fear that she was feeling whenever the Dark Rose was mentioned. She never showed fear in front of them until the last minute." _That's right. And those are the things that I couldn't even do especially with the kind of problem that I'm… no… that Kudou-kun and I are dealing with…_ she added in her thoughts.

The kids looked at Haibara intently that somehow gave her the creeps. But then, she saw them smiled.

"I do agree with that. Even though she has little to no chance of winning against them at all, she faced them heads on. Just for the reason that she doesn't want to put everyone in danger," Mitsuhiko stated happily. Genta and Ayumi agreed.

_I wonder if I could be like Shinomiya-san one day,_ Haibara thought. And then she sighed.

But then she heard her detective badge beeped. Soon after, she turned it on.

"This is Haibara," she started placidly.

"I've got news," Conan said on the other line.

All of them were excited to hear (even though in Haibara's part, it wasn't obvious) that news that Conan was talking about. They just hoped that the news had something to do with Kourin.

**-x-x-**

_**Seishun Gakuen…**_

The classes weren't postponed even after the attack at the school. Somehow, the students managed to overcome the fear and at the very least, forget and act like nothing had happened. No one got hurt among them, so far. The investigation only lasted for two days so it seemed like it was back to normal. So far, there was no damage done to the school itself so there was nothing for them to worry about.

But not all of them could stay calm and forget everything.

More particularly, it was the Seigaku regulars who couldn't stay calm and forget everything since they had gotten pretty involved in the case. Even though they continued their practice, it would appear that someone among the regulars couldn't really give all of his concentration to all their practice matches.

It was Echizen Ryoma.

But no one could blame the freshman rookie, anyway. With that kind of mess he had gotten himself into, no wonder he couldn't give it all. And what was really destroying Ryoma's concentration was his worries for his 9-year-old savior. He was worried about Kourin's concentration and according to Doctor Yanai who visited the freshman yesterday, she had woken up yet.

Tezuka could only watch Ryoma like that. He understood his kouhai's predicament and he would let him be like that just until Kourin woke up from her slumber. It wasn't easy to concentrate on a game with so many thoughts being mixed up in the boy's mind regarding that case and the recent incident. The captain could only hope that Ryoma would be able to overcome this predicament.

The practice continued throughout the day with no haslle somehow. But before all of them could wrap up the practice for that day, unexpected guests came to them. All of them could only hope that something good had happened to have those kids as their guests.

Oishi welcomed the guests who happened to be the Detective Boys—of course, minus Conan again.

Since the attack, the regulars and the Detective Boys agreed that they'd let each group know about Kourin's condition who was still at the hospital up until now. Hopefully, those kids would bring them the good news about the young girl's condition.

"We're really sorry if we came here suddenly. It's just that… we have something to tell you. And it's not going to wait," Mitsuhiko said as he panted to catch his breath.

But before any of the Seigaku regulars could inquire and let the kids talk, they had them take a rest for a short while and offered them to drink first before they continued which the kids obliged.

"Now can you tell us what's going on?" Momoshiro asked.

Ayumi took a deep breath before she began speaking. "Rin-san finally woke up, according to Conan-kun."

All of the regulars couldn't hide their happiness and sighs of relief when they heard that from Ayumi.

"Then can we visit her?" Ryoma asked with hints of worries and hopefulness in his voice, but then they didn't mind. It was understandable. Among the Seigaku regulars, the freshman had the strongest connection to Kourin. From what they had noticed, he was acting a bit like her big brother.

Mitsuhiko sadly looked at Ryoma. "Unfortunately… we can't."

Ryoma felt disappointed. "Why not?"

"Akira-sensei said we can't visit her yet for some reasons. But Conan-kun said that we could visit her at 6:00 in the evening if you want."

They looked at each other as if trying to get an answer from each other. After that, they faced the kids.

"Will it be okay if the four of you could wait for us?" Fuji asked with a gentle smile.

"Why?"

But Fuji just smiled at them. "We'll be going to the hospital with you. We just have to finish our practice for the upcoming tennis tournament that we're going to participate into."

The kids looked at each other and after some seconds, they nodded in agreement. Ayumi took the opportunity to talk.

"We don't mind if we wait. Besides, we're kind of excited to see how you play tennis. Maybe we could learn a thing or two about it."

Mitsuhiko agreed. "We also wanted to see how Ryoma-niichan play tennis."

The regulars could only smile at that. But then Oishi suddenly remembered something.

"Won't your parents be angry if you stayed outside late at night?"

"They won't be angry since they have me as their guardian," someone answered the vice-captain's question and they were quite surprised to see who it was.

"You are... Akira-san..." Ryoma murmured. Shouko smiled at him.

"I'll wait along with them. My sister told me that I have to guard you even though the danger was over. Rin-chan would feel bad if something terrible happens to you again."

The freshman showed a smirk at that comment. But deep inside, he was happy that someone like Kourin would actually care for his safety like that. And so, the Detective Boys watched the Seigaku Regulars continue their practice.

**-x-x-**

Kourin was lying on her hospital bed while looking outside the window as she watched the sunset and waited for her private visitors. This was the main reason why Doctor Akira didn't allow Ayumi and the other kids to visit her yet.

As she continued to watch and admire the red orange sunset, she suddenly heard a knock. Then she turned her head to the door.

"Come in," she said in a formal voice.

She saw a couple came in, along with a young woman that she could guess was about the same age as Shouko; the three people were smiling at her. She couldn't help but to give them a smile, as well. She tried to sit up on the her as she waited for the three people to come towards her and take a seat on the chairs placed on the side of her bed.

"We're so sorry that we asked Akira-sensei a small favor to talk to you," the older woman said apologetically.

Kourin shook her head and looked at them with her eyes started to regain the same light they once had. "It's okay. It might be a little important and… secretive for you to talk to me in private. You can say I understand that. So I don't really mind." She faced them seriously. "May I ask who are you?"

"We're Ryoma's parents," Nanjiroh answered and gestured to Nanako. "And this young lady behind me is my niece, Nanako. You could say she's my cocky son's cousin."

Nanako bowed to her and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

It took some time before that realization sank into Kourin's mind.

Nanjiroh continued speaking. "We came here to thank you for what you did to my son. I never thought I'll be endangering my son's life because of the secret that your father had entrusted to me many years ago."

But the girl remained silent. Kourin already knew what Nanjiroh was talking about since the two doctors and Conan already told her the truth, including Nanjiroh's involvement to the Shinomiya family.

"You don't have to worry about it. Ryoma-niichan might not have any idea about it but I know that he'll understand the sacrifices that you did for the sake of my father and your family a long time ago." Then the girl faced Nanako. "I should be the one thanking you for saving my life, Mieno-san. Akira-sensei said that you're the one who donated the blood that I needed to survive. So thank you." She then gave a small bow.

Nanako smiled gently. "It's the least I can do. We owe you a lot because of what you did to save Ryoma-san's life twice. You did that to someone who was a stranger to you."

But Kourin could only keep quiet about that. Even she didn't know the reason why she saved Ryoma from drowning and completely dying from hypothermia in the river. But when she took the bullet meant to kill him, she knew the whole reason why she did that. And it was defintely something that she would never forget.

"But to me, he's not a stranger anymore," the girl murmured.

_She's just like her father when it comes to treating strangers that they rescued,_ Nanjiroh couldn't help but to comment this inside his mind about the girl in front of him. _But she looks just like her mother, Rina. Her hair, her eyes, even her skin complexion… she's just like the younger version of Rina wherever you look at it._

"In any case, we really owe you a lot. And now that I think about it, thank you would never be enough to express our gratitude to what you did."

Though Kourin felt a little confused to what Rinko said, she just smiled.

"There would still be time for that. And I guess I can wait. So you don't have to worry much about it, okay?" The couple, even Nanako, couldn't help but to smile and agree to what the young girl said. Kourin was right. There was still time.

That day continued on with the four of them having a good conversation.

For Rinko, Nanjiroh, and Nanako, it would be one memory they would never forget. One that would stand out since Ryoma became involved in a danger. Saving this girl's life had made them into somebody they never thought they were. This girl had shown them the importance of family.

As for Kourin, meeting Ryoma's parents was one unexpected thing. But it sure felt like… having a family once again.

This encounter would be engraved in their hearts for as long as they live.

At least, they were all sure of that.

**-x-x-**

**That's it for Chapter 18. Please read and review, even though there are only few who do that in the crossover section. I need inspiration, people! Reviews do that. :)**


	20. Reason To Live Life To The Fullest

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or Detective Conan. They belong to their respective authors. I only own Shinomiya Kourin and the other OC's in this story.

**Warning: **Characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC

**-x-x-**

**Chapter 19: Reason To Live Life To The Fullest**

_**6:30 PM, Seishun Gakuen…**_

The practice was finihsed and the kids seemed to have enjoyed watching it since they never got bored in waiting for the Seigaku regulars like what they had agreed on. They've learned a lot about it since Shouko also explained to them all the terminologies used in it. The four kids agreed that they would watch the tennis tournament where the Seigaku regulars will be participating in to. But then they hoped that Kourin would be alright by that time so that it would be so much fun.

They've waited for a few more minutes as the regulars changed their clothes and fixed their equipments before completely leaving the school. But then, Ayumi asked something to Shouko as she realized something.

"Akira-san, I'd like to ask something. Are we going to ride a train to get to the hospital? With these many people coming along, I don't think we'll fit in the car that you brought along."

"We'll be fine if we just ride the train. We don't want to cause any more trouble if we ride with you," Oishi said as he looked at the calmly smiling Shouko.

"I won't allow that."

All of them were surprised to hear that from Shouko.

"Why is that, Akira-san?" Mitsuhiko curiously asked.

The woman slightly sighed and then stopped to her tracks. It made the others stop to their tracks, as well.

"Because I promised my sister that I would accompany all of you when going to the hospital to visit Rin-chan."

"But Akira-san, how are you going to do that?" Genta asked.

Before Shouko could answer, Haibara heaved a sigh that made the others change their focus from the woman to her.

"I think you have forgotten who the Miyuzaki clan really are."

While they were trying to think about what she said, Haibara just continued walking and all of them were surprised to see a bus parked in front of the school gate.

"That's…"

"That's the bus that we're going to use for all of us to go to the hospital. I did promise that I would accompany _all _of you to Rin-chan. I'm just fulfilling that promise."

With that, all of them boarded the bus excitedly.

Shouko was the last one to enter the bus. When she noticed the face of the bus driver, she smiled.

"Thank you for this, Ihara-san **(a)**."

The driver Ihara also smiled at her. "You shouldn't thank me. This is the least I could do to Kourin-ojousama. I wasn't able to give much help when the attack happened."

"It doesn't even matter now. At least Rin-chan is safe. And these kids…" Then she looked at the Detective Boys and the Seigaku regulars who were sitting as fun conversations seemed to keep them busy. "…these kids would somehow help us light up the princess' life again. I know that."

Ihara looked at the kids, as well and then he slightly nodded. "You're right."

**-x-x-**

_**7:00 PM, Beika Central Hospital…**_

As a part of her daily activities, Kourin wrote on her journal. It has become a habit ever since she began to write sentences. Now, one of the things she wrote there was her conversation with Ryoma's parents. But before they left, they had asked her not to tell Ryoma about their conversation and somehow, she obliged even without knowing the real reason for that.

Just as she was done writing, she heard a knock. And then she smiled when she saw Doctor Akira entered the room. The woman was smiling and more than ever, Kourin felt that she was back with her new family—just like what she had promised to her own family.

"How are you feeling today, Rin-chan?" the doctor asked after siting on one of the chairs placed beside the hospital bed that Kourin was using.

The girl smiled. "I'm fine. At least I'm back. How were the others while I was asleep?"

"They have been worried for the past three days. But I assured them that you'll be just fine as soon as you wake up from your slumber."

"It must have been hard for them, huh?" she commented and then she looked outside the window. "Oh, well! At least I'm back now. That's what matters, right?"

The doctor nodded and looked at her seriously. "But on a normal situation, you should've been dead by now even with the performance of a blood transfusion. Still, you made it back here. How did you do that?"

That made Kourin looked at Doctor Akira. She just looked at her for a while before she spoke after sighing.

"If it wasn't for my family leading me back to the living, I wouldn't be here. I mean, they did help me find my way and my lost spirit to continue living after what happened. All the while when I was lost in the dark, the only thing I could think of was to be with my parents and my brother, at long last. But then they warned me not to do that because…" she paused and then she sighed once more. "…because I still have my family waiting for me here. I have my new family now. Mama and Papa were happy that I have you as a part of that new family, Shouda-sensei." Then Kourin smiled.

The doctor was surprised at the young girl's response. She really couldn't believe that she was actually talking to a nine-year-old kid. It had been quite obvious for a long time that a person rarely remembered an event happening while he was in his comatose stage. From what Doctor Akira could see, Kourin was among those rare individuals.

After absorning what Kourin had said, the doctor smiled and then nodded as a sign that she agreed with it.

"I'm glad to hear that from our princess," she said to the girl.

"I finally learned all of that while fighting for my life. And I'll be glad if ever I see Ryoma-niichan have his real smile after all that predicament he had been through for the past week. That's all I need for me to know that I could finally move on from all that had happened out there. I'm sure my fmaily would agree to that."

"You're right."

Kourin smiled again as the doctor said that. She never thought that after all that had happened, she would still have the desire to live. What she had been through was obviously too much for a normal kid to bear all alone. But she knew all the while that she wasn't an ordinary kid and that she wasn't alone. She was never alone. She has always been special in many aspects, just like his cousin Kudo Shinichi. Along with the support of those people who still believed in her, she managed to overcome the fear of facing her life without her parents and her beloved older brother. It was undeniably hard but still…

_I guess I owe Ryoma-niichan a lot because of all these. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have the courage that I need to overcome this._ She smiled inwardly at the thought that entered her head.

Their conversation continued for a while and then all of a sudden, the two heard a knock. She could only see silhouettes on the glass part of the door but she could clearly see familiar silhouettes from there.

"Come in."

The door opened. She wasn't surprised to see the Detective Boys and the Seigaku regulars entered. It made her greet all of them with a bright smile which caught her guests off-guard for some seconds. It would appear that they never expected something like that from a kid who nearly died from a sniper's shot just to protect someone.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" the kid innocently asked when she noticed them only staring at her with a somewhat surprised looks.

They were snapped out from their surprised state and smiled as they approached Kourin. She saw them approached her one by one. But for some reason, she haven't seen Ryoma and Conan among them. That was why she looked at her guests.

It was Oishi who answered her silent question. "They're having a serious conversation outside with Akira-san. They said that they'll just follow."

"Okay…" she answered. But what Oishi said had definitely aroused her curiosity already.

It was something that Haibara had easily noticed.

"You shoulnd't worry about anything, Shinomiya-san. Edogawa-kun's not harassing him with so many questions, if you're worried about that. Akira-san's probably telling him something quite important," Haibara said placidly.

Kourin forced out a laugh and then smiled as she looked at her visitors who were undeniably happy to see her well.

"I'm glad you made it here. And I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused to all of you because of that incident," she said sincerely and then gave a bow to her guests.

Well, it was another thing that caught them off-guard. That was what she noticed.

"Rin-san, you don't have to do that," Mitsuhiko said frantically. "You're not the one to be blamed for what happened. You didn't even ask for anything like that to happen at all."

It made the young girl raise her head and had a look at Mitsuhiko who was now looking down. It was as if he couldn't look at her in the eyes.

"Mitsuhiko-kun…"

"He's right, Rin-san," Ayumi then said and held her hands placed on her lap. "No one is to be blamed for anything. You just did what you have to do to protect all of those people that you have left to really care about with your life. The truth is, we admire you for what you did to Ryoma-niichan."

"Huh? What do you mean? I thought you would say that I'm a reckless kid or something."

Fuji laughed at her statemet and then he looked at Kourin. "Well, you are quite like that. Especially for a young girl that's really vulnerable." Then his face turned serious. "Recklessness or not, what you did was done for only one visible reasoon. And I know that Echizen would never forget what you had done for him for as long as he live. Same goes for you, I presume."

Kourin never said anything to comment on that. Then her mind already sank deeper because of that. Fuji was right. What she did for Ryoma's sake was done for a single reason that she had somehow explained to the said freshman just before she passed out after the gunshot. That might be what Shouko and Conan were telling to Ryoma right now.

"It seems to me your mind had plunged deeper than what I expected, Rin."

It made her snap out from her musings and looked for the guy who said that. Honestly, she wasn't surprised when she found out who said that.

"Conan-kun…" she uttered and looked at the door. There was Ryoma, standing there looking at her. But then she noticed his eyes slowly revealing emotions as he kept on looking at her.

What she had noticed there had made her heart constrict. Guilt, sadness, pain—those were just some of it. But she also noticed signs of… gladness as he looked at her, as if happy that she was well and good after that predicament.

Guided by Shouko, Ryoma entered completely. Doctor Akira lent the seat she was sitting on to Ryoma. The freshman was quite surprised but he somehow understood what the doctor meant. He just gave a small smile and then he sat.

"I think it's quite best if we let them have a conversation first," Shouko said to the others. Knowing what was going on, they obliged and then went out of the room one by one. The last one to get out were Shouko, Conan, and Doctor Akira.

When everyone was out, Ryoma heaved a heavy sigh before speaking. "How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm fine. At least I'm still in one piece even after that incident," she said and then she smiled.

But Ryoma's face remained serious. It made Kourin looked at him with a serious face, as well. Then she sighed.

"I know you're blaming yourself for what happened to me at Seishun Gakuen. But I'll just have to say it, still. Conan-kun might have said something like this, too. You don't have any reason to keep blaming yourself for something that I chose to do with my own free will. It was undeniably shocking, I know. I mean, seriously, a kid who would willingly take a bullet just to protect a middle school freshman from being shot by a sniper's bullet. But then I'm pretty sure I did that for a reason that might have helped me trigger to bring out my protective instincts." Then she chuckled. "I guess you could say that I'm a weird kid."

It took a while for Ryoma to absorb what Kourin had said. From what he heard from her, he couldn't actually let himself believe that she still had the guts to joke around like that after all that had happened to her that definitely changed her life.

"How can you still smile and joke around like that after all that had happened to you?" he couldn't help but to ask her that question.

Kourin looked at Ryoma seriously once again but she maintained a calm expression. "I know you're still confused as to why I did such recklessness. But you see—"

"Because you can see your brother Hitoshi in me, don't you? We have the resemblance, after all that one would think he's my lost brother or something because of it," Ryoma finished her sentence. What he just said had definitely shocked her.

"H-how did you…?"

"It's Edogawa-kun who told me about it, about your brother who looked a lot like me. The kid said that your brother was also killed along with your parents a year ago because he was trying to protect you, his fiancee, and even your uncle and aunt. What happened that night had made you come here to Japan. It came as a surprise to me at first. But then I came to understand everything when Edogawa-kun explained it all to me."

There was silence after that. Even her mind did the same. There was nothing she could possibly say about that. That was when she remembered what Hitoshi told her while she was hesitating to go back to the world of the living.

"I see." After that, she looked outside and glanced at the night sky. She inwardly smiled at what she saw.

There were stars shimmering brightly as it was plastered on the night sky. Kourin didn't usually appreciate this kind of scenery after her family was killed. It was as if those stars would only bring back the intense pain she felt when she lost those that were extremely important to her.

But now, it was different. Extremely different. It was as if the stars were somehow… smiling as they shimmered down from the heavens. Now, she could really appreciate them. When she reverted her gaze to Ryoma, she then knew the reason behind that.

_I really owe a lot to you, Ryoma-niichan_, she thought and then she smiled.

Ryoma was caught off-guard because of that but it was just for a while. He smiled back at her. When she saw that, she felt her heart lept because she was happy. Finally, she was able to see Ryoma smile. And it was a real smile, at that.

For Ryoma, he smiled because at long last, he was able to see Kourin's true smile. It was just like what he had seen from the photos that Conan handed to him. But he never thought that he would be able to see it first hand and it was definitely beautiful. After a few moments, he spoke.

"I thought it would be impossible for me to see you smile like that again," he said. Kourin didn't say anything, allowing him to continue what he wanted to say. "And I thought of something after I heard thereal reason why you saved me. I hope you won't mind me saying this but… I don't really mind if ever you really treat me as your brother."

The kid's eyes slightly widened after hearing that. But bfore she could say something, he spoke once again.

"I know you can only see me for now as someone who resembles your dead older brother. But I don't really mind about that thought. I had never been close to anyone whom I met because of this kind of incident, let alone befriend a kid. With what you have done to save my life twice, I knew then that I had unconsciously allowed you to get close to me because I realized that I was being protective to you and constantly get worried about you like… like a family…" he said, saying the last phrase almost a whisper.

Kourin said nothing with regards to that. So what she had speculated before was true. He really became attached to her without both of them knowing it. And now he was allowing her to treat him as a brother.

She then sighed. "I admit I had to bear all the emotional torture that I was constantly feeling for a year when I realized that I will not be able to see my family anymore. It was completely devastating on my part. I mean, I was only eight years old when all of those events happened to me. I'm always saying to myself that I don't deserve such a cruel fate. I never stop crying each time I was saying such things. But then, all of those thoughts gradually changed when I met you and Fuji-san and Momo-chan, especially when I learned that you're facing the very same predicament as I am. I said to myself that you don't deserve to suffer the same way I did for a year now. I didn't want you to experience the same pain and agony that I felt just because of some family treasure that you weren't supposed to be involved into. I almost went insane when I had those experiences. It's a good thing Shouda-sensei, Shouko-san, Yanai-sensei, the rest of the Miyuzaki clan, Yumemiya clan, and the Azuraya clan, along with my cousin, my uncle, and my aunt helped me and told me never to give up hope."

"I can't believe I'm talking to a nine-year-old kid," Ryoma couldn't help commenting and then he chuckled, which was a rare sight. "But that really cleared things now."

"You're right."

For a while, they talked about some other stuffs before the other guests entered her hospital room. They all had a really great time conversing and doing other things together with everyone she met because of that incident that turned her life around, though she could say that it wasn't really that bad. In fact, she found it… great. It was like the same feeling she was having whenever she was with her family.

And that made her realize something.

The Dark Rose incident eventually led her to realize that she hadn't really lost her family. She may have lost her biological parents and brother, but then she found a new family through Ryoma.

The Miyuzaki clan, the Yumemiya clan, the Azuraya clan, the Akira sisters, Doctor Yanai, Conan and the rest of the Detective Boys, the Seigaku regulars, particularly Ryoma…

They were the ones that she noew considered as a part of her new found family.

Honestly, she couldn't be any happier than that. She definitely wanted to thank her parents for convincing her to go back.

Finally, she has found herself a new home and a new family. And she owe all of that to Ryoma.

_Thank you… Ryoma-niichan…_

**-x-x-**

**a… **_Ihara was the family butler of the Shinomiya and one of the seven important elders of the four families. He was first mentioned in one chapter wherein he was the one that gave authority to Kourin to the files about the Dark Rose members that she later on handed over to Conan._

**-x-x-**

**That's it for Chapter 19. This is the last chapter, people! And of course, if there's a prologue, there's also an epilogue. Watch out for it, okay? Please read and review, even though there are only few who do that in the crossover section. I need inspiration, people! Reviews do that. :)**


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